Alternate Reality
by YB Fan
Summary: Someone who knows of the future is sent along with the gang on their journey through worlds. How much of the future can they change and how much must remain the same? SyaoSaku, KuroFai
1. Chapter 1

"You are here because you have a wish."

A blonde who had been walking listlessly stopped. Green eyes widened at the sight of the tall black haired woman who smiled enigmatically. "Correct?"

The blonde looked around at the new surroundings. _"Impossible. Is she really…?"_

"What is your name?"

The blonde turned back, inhaled, and smiled. "Amanda." She said. "You are the Dimensional Witch, right, Yuuko-san?"

Yuuko merely smiled, "That's right. And I grant wishes." She said simply. "What is your wish?"

_"Ryu…"_

The name sounded in the blonde's mind. For a moment, Amanda was tempted to wish for the one person she knew she could never have, but knew she could not destroy the man's happiness.

_"I can't. He's with Shade now. They deserve each other."_ Amanda closed her eyes. _"Fuck. I've really gotten soft."_

The blonde looked up, returning her mind back to the current situation. _"Did I step into a different time frame somehow? Another dimension? Why does she exist? Does that mean-"_

"Here they come." Yuuko said suddenly, drawing the blonde out of her thoughts. She smiled. "Perhaps they will help you decide your wish."

Amanda blinked, and looked up a blob emerged out of the sky, gravitating towards the ground. It touched the ground, and dissolved into swirls to reveal a boy cradling a girl to him. He looked up, and his face was pale but his eyes were determined.

Amanda's eyes widened, as the boy spoke, "You are the witch of the dimensions?"

"Yes." Yuuko's whole countenance seemed to have changed at the sight of the boy and the girl, and she gave off a more solemn air. "I have been called that."

"Please…" the boy breathed, his brown eyes widening in desperation, "Please save Sakura!"

Amanda felt her mind blank out at the sight. _"That's Syaoran, and he's holding Sakura…"_ she thought dazedly. _"Then that means…" _she looked up into the sky as the rain poured down mercilessly, _"I'm seriously in Tsubasa?"_

_"…Maybe I really stepped into a different dimension." _Amanda shook her head. She smiled and turned her gaze to Syaoran and Sakura, _"Well, isn't this interesting? Unexpected, but it's a good distraction."_

She took the time to observe the scene, noticing how Yuuko was not drenched by the rain like them. _"So she really is in a different dimension."_

"You wish to save this child?"

"Yes!"

Amanda tuned back in, feeling sympathy for the boy and the girl. Even though he was trying so hard…she knew what would happen in the end.

She turned her gaze. Sakura…was so, lifeless. Amanda had always thought she was a little slow after she woke up, but seeing her unmoving body now which Syaoran held close – she felt glad for the progress Sakura would make in the future.

_"If I know the future…does that mean I can change it?"_

"There is a _price_. Are you still willing?"

The blonde looked at the witch, and took note of how she looked completely solemn, unlike her attitude when she had spoken to her earlier. _"It must be painful knowing the future but unable to do anything."_ She mused. _"Even now, as she speaks, she knows what will happen in the end."_

"I will pay _any _price I can!" Syaoran shouted resolutely, with no hesitation.

_"He really loves her."_ Amanda smiled sadly, as Yuuko looked up into the sky.

"Here they come."

_"Fay and Kurogane." _Amanda thought as she watched a blob drop down from the sky and another emerge from the ground. Swirls enveloped the two figures before they disappeared to reveal a blond holding a staff wearing a white fluffy coat and a frown on his face and a black haired man on the ground, wrapped in a black cape with his long sword in his hand and blood on his face. _"Wow. They really came at the exact same time."_

"Are you the dimension witch?" The blond smiled.

"Who the hell are you?" The black haired man scowled.

The blonde watching them smirked. _"And they spoke at the exact same time too." _Amanda resisted the urge to laugh as Kurogane glared at Fay and Fay looked at him in surprise. _"Talk about soulmates."_

She watched as Kurogane introduced himself gruffly and asked where he was while Fay bowed and introduced himself as the wizard of Celes. _"It's really the same. The only thing different is my presence."_

As the conversation went on, the blonde withdrew back into her thoughts. _"So I have to decide, don't I? What my wish is. She'll be asking me that later."_

"My home world…"

_"Here it comes."_

"Is the place where I want to be." Kurogane said, as Fay said at the same time, "Is the place where I do _not _want to be."

_"Can't believe I didn't notice it. It's so damn obvious."_ Amanda thought in amusement as Kurogane twitched and Fay stared at him.

"That is a tall order…for both of you." Yuuko said, her slender finger touching her chin, "No…for all _three_ of you."

"Or," Amanda looked at Yuuko, who glanced at her, "The four of you…perhaps."

"Have _you_ decided what your wish is?"

Amanda smiled. "Do I have a choice?"

Yuuko smiled back. "You always have a choice."

Amanda brushed her hair back as Yuuko walked towards her. "I know." The blonde said. "You know that too, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you're sending me with them?"

Yuuko smiled enigmatically. "Everything is hitsuzen."

"You really know everything, huh?"

"You do too," Yuuko said, and looked at the blonde with serious eyes, lowering her voice, "But you should know, there is no changing the future. You cannot speak of what you know to anyone." She smirked slightly. "You can't change what's going to happen to any one of them, especially not Fay."

"Knowing that, will you still go?"

"He's my favourite character. Isn't that a bit too cruel?"

"Exactly. Those who know the future are dealt a cruel fate."

"He suffers the most, along with Sakura."

"You cannot prevent their suffering," Yuuko said seriously. "But you can ease it."

"Because everything is hitsuzen, huh?"

Yuuko nodded. Amanda sighed, sliding a hand into a pocket, "They're getting impatient," she commented offhandedly as she glanced at the people she knew even before she met them, "There are still a lot of things I want to ask, but I think you should deal with them first." She shifted her gaze. "Especially poor Syaoran and Sakura."

Yuuko smiled wryly. "The sooner you tell me your wish, the sooner I can appease them."

"You're cruel." Amanda said dryly. She looked up into the crying sky, "I haven't decided, but if I had a wish…it would be to get away from reality." She said distantly. "Maybe from this world."

"So that is your wish." Yuuko said, and Amanda heard her walk away.

The blonde bit her lip as Yuuko spoke to the soon to be dimension travellers. _"Ah. If I end up going with them, who knows when I'll next see Ryu again?" _Amanda thought, _What if I die and I never see him again? I, kind of just walked away, didn't I? Then suddenly I found myself here…"_

_"If I went back now, I know he'd be glad to see me," _Amanda closed her eyes, _"I'll be happy to see him too, but sad too 'cause he's with Shade." _The blonde looked at the boy, the girl, the mage and the ninja,_ "But if I leave with them…I won't see him for a very long time. He won't see me either. I don't want to make Ryu-chan sad."_

_"But, I guess I've kind of made my choice. I won't really be missed if I left now. I mean, Ryu will miss me and maybe Shade, but since that organization's down, it's gonna be boring from now on. No more killing stupid bastards who think they can mess with my Ryu."_ She blinked. _"And, since Ryu's an idol and all and I have to get back to America, I guess we won't see each other that much after all."_

_"Yeah. I might as well take a break, huh? It's a great way to start a new life, isn't it?" _Amanda smiled wryly as she watched Kurogane glare disbelievingly at Fay as the blond laughed sheepishly. _"I do know them after all."_ She moved her gaze to Syaoran and Sakura. _"Nice chance to watch two romances in the making…since my own love life sucks."_

_"Besides, I've always wanted to go on an adventure." _The blonde thought with a smile. _"And I'll definitely get back. Because Ryu's…my friend. My first friend."_

_"…Tch. Look at me, doing a monologue like some anime character."_

"Have you decided?"

"Yeah." Amanda looked at the witch of dimensions. She nodded. "I'm going."

"Then," Yuuko walked towards the blonde who was a distance away from the four people who had come from different worlds. "Your price is your memories of him."

"…What?"

Yuuko stopped, and looked at Amanda, who smiled nervously, though her heart was racing in her chest. "Really," green eyes blinked. "Why don't you take my knowing of what's going to happen instead? So I don't end up jeopardizing anything."

Yuuko shook her head. "I cannot." She said. She glanced behind her, "Just like them, you must give up your most precious thing."

"Well, what about this?" Amanda said as she produced a whip and held it out to Yuuko with a smile. "It's quite a useful weapon."

Yuuko smiled genially, "The fact that you're offering your weapon to me despite the type of person you are," she said, "Shows how much you treasure your time together with him."

"…Now I know why Kurogane calls you the space time bitch."

The witch smiled and Amanda sighed. Feeling defeated, she kept her weapon, speaking seriously. "Are you going to take _all_ my memories of him?"

Yuuko nodded, and the blonde clarified, "So I won't _even _know who he is?"

"You will only know the him before you met him."

"So basically you're taking away my knowledge of him as the person he is and our friendship."

Yuuko looked almost sympathetic, "You're not the only one who has to give up their relationship."

"It's fine," Amanda sighed, green eyes sombre, "It's not as if we had a relationship anyway. It's just me. But he's still important to me." She said softly. "I guess this is better than Syaoran's price. Poor guy."

"Hey witch! What the hell are you doing?! And who the hell is that?!"

"Now now black one-"

"My name is Kurogane! Kuro-gane!"

"Eheh…"

"Someone's getting impatient," Yuuko said in amusement. She looked at the blonde before her wryly, "Oh don't worry, you could always find a new love." She teased, glancing at the laughing blond mage, "Right?"

"No thanks," Amanda waved off with a smirk, "He's my favourite character but I'm not in love with him. I'm not the one who can take on all his burdens anyway, I'm screwed up myself." She shrugged as she looked at the grinning mage, "Hey. I've been wondering…since he has great magic power like you…does Fay know that Kurogane is his soulmate?"

"Oh?" Yuuko looked amused, "Why do you think that?"

"Because you definitely know. Don't you?"

"Maybe. Why don't you ask Fay?"

"'Hey I barely know you but do you know Kurogane is your soulmate' – yeah, that'd go over well."

Yuuko laughed lightly. "Their meeting is because of inevitability." She said mysteriously. "Fay knows that as well."

"I'll take that as a yes." Amanda smiled in satisfaction at knowing the answer.

Yuuko smiled back, then turned serious. "So, your price…"

"Yeah, go ahead." Amanda replied, smiling sadly, "Take my memories of Ryu."

"You will never get them back."

"I know."

Yuuko held out a hand towards Amanda's forehead, and the blonde said, "Just so you know, Yuuko-san, I don't blame you for this," she said as Yuuko almost looked surprised. Amanda smiled. "This is the last time I'm gonna see you in person so I'll tell you this. I always admired your character. You did – and you're going to do what you can for them, even though it's not much. You're always trying to help in your own way. I liked that."

Yuuko blinked, then smiled a smile that seemed genuine to the blonde. "Why thank you Amanda-chan-"

"Xavier."

"Xavier-kun." The vision of Yuuko seemed to be fading away, but the blonde could still glimpse her smile. "Your words are appreciated. I hope you enjoy your journey. Though, are you sure you want to retain that form?"

"It's fine, isn't it?" The blond smirked, hazy green eyes glinting. "I'm not gonna be the only one without a secret."

"Well. Sleep well." Yuuko's voice was fading away as well, and as the blonde's green eyes closed, her smile turned into a smirk, "As a reward for such kind words…I'll make sure Fay carries you."

_"God Damn Dimensional Bitch…"_

Green eyes glared one last time at the smirking witch before they closed and their owner's world was enveloped in darkness.

_"I'm sorry… Ryu."_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi all, this is my first actual fic in the Tsubasa fandom. The other is based on a purely canon scene so I don't think that counts. I'm probably years late and all the fervor has died down but I hope you enjoy reading anyway. I usually don't like OCs, but I read a good OC fic with a really likable OC and it sort of inspired me. It's called Adventura and the OC was really, original. It was really funny and I enjoyed reading it, and I like that the OC was not involved in romance with the canon characters (but gave me new observations about them) since to me the canon pairings have already been planned from the start, since it's CLAMP. That's just my opinion. But I observed that. I'm not so creative as to create an entirely new OC with background that will suit the Tsubasa universe. So I decided to recycle an OC from my very first fic. Spoilers ahead since the OC knows about Tsubasa. Writing this was tedious but fun. Please enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles._

* * *

"Unicorn, wyvern…wyvern, unicorn…"

"What the hell is she mumbling about?"

"Ehehe, who knows?"

Green eyes blinked open and the blonde sat up, her vision clearing to reveal a grumpy looking black haired man and a smiling blond man. "You…"

"Good morning," the blond man gave a friendly smile, "Did you sleep well?"

Amanda blinked as the memories came rushing back to her. She returned the blond man's smile. "Yeah, thanks."

The blond man grinned, "I'm Fay." He introduced himself, then glanced to the side. "And that one over there is-"

"Kurogane." The black haired man said firmly, his arms crossed.

Fay's grin merely widened. "He was the one who carried you here," he said with a sheepish grin. "The witch gave you to me but I was holding my staff and I was afraid I'll drop you, so I gave you to Kuro-pu!" He gave a cheerful smile to the black haired man. "Right, Kuro-pon?"

"It' Kurogane!" Kurogane said in irritation. He scoffed and flicked his gaze to the blonde girl. "You're heavier than you look."

"Ah Kuro-rin! That's no way to speak to a lady!"

"Shut up! And it's Kurogane, damn it!"

"But Kuro-rin sounds cuter!"

"What did you say?!"

_"They're flirting already…"_

Amanda smiled, "Thank you, Kuro-pu!" She said brightly. She stood up as Kurogane glared at her and Fay smiled at her from where he was in Kurogane's grasp, "Oh I'm Amanda! Nice to meet you!"

"Amanda-chan!" Fay sang with a bright smile. "Hey Kuro-rin, can you let go of me? We need to tell her the story."

Kurogane scoffed and shoved Fay roughly away, who regained his balance quickly. He smiled and sat down on the mattress, stretching his legs, "So Amanda-chan, how much do you know?"

_"Everything_."

"Well, I only know I'm supposed to be on a journey across worlds with you guys…" Amanda said with a thoughtful smile. "I know besides you two there's a boy and a girl…right?"

"Yup! The boy is Syaoran-kun and the girl is Sakura-chan!" Fay said, smiling. He rested his chin on his hands with a smile. "You're right. We are on a journey across worlds to collect the princess's feathers."

"Princess's feathers?"

"Uhuh. Sakura-chan is a princess and she lost her feathers," Fay smiled wryly. "Her feathers contain her memories and right now, we're on a journey to retrieve them." He shifted his gaze, "Isn't that right…Kuro-pon?"

"Tch." Kurogane scoffed, red eyes narrowing. "Don't misunderstand. I'm just here because I want to go back to my home world!"

"Mmm. And I never want to go back to my home world." Fay smiled almost mysteriously.

Kurogane looked at him, then turned away. "Whatever."

_"How ironic that your wishes will be the opposite later." _

There was a short silence, before Fay turned back to Amanda, "Anyway!" He said cheerfully, "Right now we're in the first world, Sorata-san said it was the Hanshin Republic-oh," he smiled, "Sorata-san is the one letting us stay here. He lives here with his wife Arashi-san."

"This world makes use of Kudan." Kurogane said impatiently. He scoffed. "Everyone has one. If you want to know what your Kudan is you have to see it. That's what the guy said. You use your Kudan to fight."

"Not necessarily fight," Fay corrected cheerfully. He smiled. "But I think that's all. Any more questions, Amanda-chan?"

"Nope!" Amanda grinned. She stretched with a yawn, and gave a quick wink. "I think I understand! Thanks!"

"Great!" Fay grinned back and leapt off the bed. He practically skipped towards the door.

"Time to meet the rest then, Amanda-chan, Kuro-rin!"

"It's _Kurogane!"_

* * *

Time seemed to fly when reading about an event and just turning the pages, but time passed slowly when one was experiencing the event oneself.

"These apples are pretty good, huh?"

"Yes."

"But, I guess it's really true that the four of us come from completely different cultures," Fay turned and smiled at the other blonde, "This is an apple in your world, Amanda-chan?"

"Yup." Amanda said brightly as she munched on the apple, feeling a sense of nostalgia. She brushed it away. Someday she would go back. To America.

The four dimension travellers were leaning against the railing of a bridge, where the air was cool and the atmosphere was relaxed. Amanda was lost in her thoughts of her home world, feeling like she was alone, until a hand tapped her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

She turned to see Fay smiling kindly at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Amanda noticed Kurogane was staring at her as well, while Syaoran seemed to be lost in his own thoughts too. She felt a pang of sympathy as she looked at his sad eyes as he stared at the half eaten apple, knowing what he was thinking about. "I was just thinking."

"I see." Fay removed his hand from her shoulder. She supposed they had finished their conversation about how they had gotten to the dimension witch, "By the way Amanda-chan, who sent you to the dimension witch?"

"No one sent me." Fay looked at her, "I walked there."

"Walked?"

"I have no idea either!" Amanda grinned sheepishly, "I was just walking, and I found myself there!" She shrugged with a smile. "Then she told me I had a wish…maybe her place is in the same world as mine?"

"And what is your wish?" Kurogane said.

"Oh! Is Kuro-pon interested?" Amanda giggled. She grinned at Fay, who looked slightly surprised, before smiling back. Kurogane glared at her, irritated there was another person calling him stupid nicknames.

"My wish, I guess it was to get away from reality," Amanda said as she leaned back against the railing, staring up into the sky, "I just didn't think it would be granted in such a way."

"Get away from reality, huh?" Fay said with a soft smile. Amanda nodded distractedly.

"Tch." Kurogane scoffed, red eyes sharp, "Those who run away are cowards. Nothing comes from running away," he crossed his arms, looking at the two blondes, "Whatever it is you're running away from, you'll have to face it eventually."

Fay blinked in surprise, before he grinned, "Wow! Wise words from Kuro-tan!"

"Wise indeed, Kuro-pu!" Amanda joined in cheerfully. She laughed, "The funny thing is, I can't remember what I was trying to get away from!" She said, trying to think and coming up with a blank, but a lingering sad feeling. "Nope. I can't remember."

Fay and Kurogane stared at the blonde. Fay seemed about to say something, when screams pierced the air. They turned as Syaoran gasped, to the sight of a bunch of goggle wearing guys looking like they owned the place.

_"And they're the good guys…"_

There was another bunch of guys looking up at the goggle wearing guys. Shouts and screams echoed and it didn't take long for a battle to break out, as the two gangs fired blasts of energy and laser beams at each other.

"So that's a Kudan?"

"I think I've figured out why no one was surprised at Mokona."

_"Says the two who already have their Kudan."_

The green haired leader of the goggle guys who looked entirely unfazed by the battle brought out his own Kudan to counter an attack. The blue stingray was massive, and with a flick of its tail, easily beat the monkey.

It was chaos, and in the middle of the chaos, Syaoran, impossibly good willed boy, dove for a kid and shielded him with his body. His Kudan, seeming to sense his master's intentions, emerged in a swirl of bright, fierce flames, protecting them.

It was a fire wolf with a horn and blazing eyes. It used its flames to protect its master, letting out a loose growl. The battle between the wolf of fire and the stingray of water commenced, and the three adults watched as the two elemental creatures fought each other.

Syaoran spread his arms, protecting the boy with a fire wall from his Kudan, against the strong jet of water. The two elements clashed in a swirl of fire and water, dissolving away to reveal the two contenders, one smirking behind his goggles and the other with a determined expression on his face.

"I'm Shogo Asagi. You?"

"Syaoran."

Shogo smirked. "I like your style." He said.

Sirens sounded, and a guy yelled out, "Shogo, the cops!"

"Tch! And it was just getting good." Shogo sighed.

"Come on ya bastards, let's get out of here!" Shogo turned with a feral grin to the cheers of his gang, "Next time we meet, we'll have some real fun!"

The fire wolf returned to Syaoran's body, and the boy gasped. Amanda watched as Kurogane and Fay went over to him, the former frowning and the latter smiling. But Syaoran was more worried about the kid, as he whirled to face him with an anxious expression.

_"The feather's in that Kudan."_

As the boys conversed, Amanda took the chance to walk away.

_"I'm bored…isn't there anything exciting around here?"_

Amanda sighed and slipped her hand into her pocket. She brought out her phone and pressed a button, smiling at the sight of her wallpaper of a brown haired, blue eyed man giving a sexy smirk.

_"Ah, Ryu…I wonder if I'll ever get to meet you?" _The blonde sighed to herself, _"You probably don't even know of my existence. Shade's a fan of you too, you know?"_

_"Speaking of Shade, he's gonna kill me when I get back…well maybe he'll be sympathetic 'cause we're fighting over…" _green eyes blinked. "…Someone."

"Who?" Amanda shook her head, holding a hand to her forehead. "I was close to someone…someone important." The blonde muttered. "I actually got close to someone. But I didn't get him. I can't remember who. It can't be Ryu 'cause I would definitely remember meeting him."

"Ah fuck, my head hurts…"

Amanda closed her phone and kept it. Somehow, she had gotten to an area where there were less people. There were still buildings around her and she was on a bridge, though she didn't know if it was the same bridge. But somehow, she felt inexplicably lonely.

_"…I have no idea where I am."_ Amanda blinked, then shrugged. _"Oh well, a little exploring won't do me harm. I mean since I'm here, in Tsubasa, I might as well explore the worlds, right?"_

_"Do not cause yourself unnecessary pain."_

"…Who's that?" Amanda looked around.

_"I am in your heart." _The voice said. _"Concentrate, human."_

_"Heart, huh?"_

Amanda closed her eyes, embracing the feeling of being protected in her heart. She opened her eyes, and watched as a swirl of light blue emerged, swishing into the air to form a wyvern.

"Ah. You're the one I saw in my dream…along with that unicorn."

_"You chose me."_ The wyvern said. _"You have two cores so you had two choices."_ It seemed to smile with sharp teeth. _"You rejected the one of Light, the one you have grown to be."_

_"You are reverting back to who you were."_

Amanda smiled, leaning back against the railing. "So, what powers do you have?"

_"I govern over the element of Ice." _

"An ice wyvern huh? Pretty cool. Though," the blonde smirked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought my Kudan would be of darkness or something. Seeing how many I've killed."

The wyvern smirked back, if wyverns could smirk. It spread its huge, spiked wings, _"You are an interesting human."_ He said. _"Not many can control me."_

_"Why do you pretend?"_

"I'm not the only one pretending." Amanda replied casually, staring out into the water with a wry smile, "But, it makes things more interesting, doesn't it?"

The wyvern lowered his head, and the blonde reached out to place an almost affectionate hand on his neck. "So…why ice?"

_"Because your heart is cold. And it has grown colder with who you've forgotten." _The wyvern blinked its red eyes of frozen ice, _"Your darkness is motivated by the ice in your heart."_

"A cold heart, huh?" Amanda murmured, staring off into the distance. She turned to look at the wyvern's ruby eyes of ice, "I had warmth once, I remember that. But now, it's just a lost feeling."

_"Because you have forgotten." _The wyvern met the blond's eyes. _"But even though you have forgotten, all is not lost. You have new companions who will travel the future with you, people who will warm your cold heart."_ The dragon said. _"You should look to the future."_

"Yeah, and I can't do anything to help them," the green eyed blonde said softly, "Knowing the future sucks."

_"All the more you should treasure the present." _The wyvern raised his head, and the blonde removed her hand, _"One of them is approaching."_

"How do you know?" Amanda said, even though she had sensed the presence.

The wyvern smiled toothily. _"I can sense his Kudan."_ He leaned down to nuzzle the blonde's hair. _"Farewell for now."_

"See you later." The wyvern disappeared back into the blonde's heart.

"Amanda-chaaan!"

The blonde tapped her foot and inhaled, then looked up with an expression of surprise. "Fay-chan!"

The mage grinned, not seeming to mind the feminine suffix to his name, "Found you!" He exclaimed. He touched down on the ground lightly and leaned his arms on the railing, blue eyes shining, "Hey Amanda-chan, why did you walk away like that? We were surprised when you disappeared!"

Amanda stared for a while at the shining blue eyes, then shook her head with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I wanted to explore this place! It's a new world after all!" She winked, "But don't worry, I know we're here for Sakura-chan's feather!" She sighed, "Ah, I can't wait for her to wake up, I really want to talk to her!"

"Ah. Though Amanda-chan's tall, you're still a girl," Fay smiled serenely, then shifted his blue eyes, "But, I guess I'm waiting for Sakura-chan to wake up too. And so is Syaoran-kun."

Amanda inhaled. "Even though she has forgotten him."

Fay blinked. "How did you know?" He said in surprise.

_"Shit. They didn't tell me that, did they? Think Rain, think!"_

"Uh," Amanda said with a smile, "The dimension witch- Yuuko-san took the most important thing as the price, right?" She said. "I was watching. And it's obvious Syaoran-kun treasures Sakura-chan more than anything. So I thought he would forget her as his price. But since he still remembers her, she must have been the one to forget him."

"That makes sense. Amanda-chan's a smart girl." Fay smiled. He sighed softly. "Mmm. That's what happened. It's more painful for Syaoran-kun if Sakura-chan forgets him than if he forgets her." He said sombrely. "That's why the dimensional witch took her memories of him as the price."

"Poor Syaoran." Amanda murmured. A short silence lasted between them.

_"Poor Fay too. He thinks he's not supposed to exist. Maybe that's why he cares for Syaoran and Sakura so much."_ The blonde thought as she looked at the silent mage. _"The three of them are beings who aren't supposed to exist."_

_"Concentrate on the present." _The wyvern's voice said. Amanda shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled, "By the way Fay-chan, were you flying just now?"

Fay blinked as if snapping out of his thoughts and then grinned, "Oops. My secret's out!" He laughed lightly, "I didn't know where you went, so I thought using my Kudan to find you would be faster!" He smiled brightly, "Flying is faster than walking after all!"

"Ah. Sorry for walking away like that…"

"It's okay, Amanda-chan!" Fay drew his lean form gracefully away from the railing and gestured with a forgiving smile, "Let's go back, okay? Everyone's waiting. Syaoran-kun was worrying about you. Masayoshi-kun wasn't sure if we should advance if one of us was missing." He smiled wider, "Oh even Kuro-rin looked concerned, Mokona pointed that out!"

"And…if Sakura-chan was awake, she would be worried too."

_"Great…way to make me feel guilty," _Amanda thought of the sleeping girl. _"Yeah, she's too kind that she'll be worried if one of her companions was missing, even though she doesn't know me."_ She sighed inwardly. _"Yeah that's Sakura alright. Why'd the unicorn of Light come to me? It should have gone to her. Heh, Sakura with a Kudan…"_

"Yeah." Amanda said aloud, smiling at the smiling mage. She pushed herself away from the railing and grinned. "Can't keep everybody waiting, can I? Lead the way, Fay-chan!"

"Sure, Amanda-chan!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Aw, no one's reviewed, is this story really that unappealing? :( Maybe I'm not suited for this fandom after all. I just thought it would be interesting to have an outside presence to observe them, I mean Tsubasa is mainly about Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane and Fay but it's always interesting to have an outside view and someone who may be able to help them without the story being entirely focused on the person, like that fic I read..  
But this was enjoyable to write anyway. I always liked Hanshin and I felt they could have done more there so I'm taking liberties with everyone's Kudan here. Enjoy :)_

* * *

"Ahhh, that was a great meal wasn't it, Amanda-chan?!"

"It sure was, Fay-chan!"

Fay grinned, "Stabbing those things called chopsticks into the food was so much easier than using them!"

"Yeah, I would have preferred a fork too! Those stab rather well!"

Kurogane snorted, and Fay turned to look up at him with a smile, "Ah but Kuro-rin had no problem at all, right? Is it similar to your country?"

"Yeah."

"Kuro-tan had no trouble at all eating!" Amanda smiled brightly, "Although he had trouble getting the food from Mokona!"

"Mokona won in the end!" Mokona exclaimed happily from on top of Syaoran's head of brown hair, "Kuro-rin lost to Mokona!"

"What did you say?!"

"Kuro-rin lost, Kuro-rin is a sore losssser!"

"You damn manjuu bun!"

Fay laughed as Kurogane chased Mokona and Amanda smiled, shifting her gaze, "Although Syaoran-chan seemed to be in his own world," she said, "Seeing people who look like those you know must have been a shock, huh?"

"Eh?" Syaoran blinked. He nodded, "Yeah…"

"Are you okay, Syaoran-chan?"

"Ah, yeah…" Syaoran flushed slightly. "But you know, Amanda-san…"

"Eh?"

"Why are you calling me with –chan…?"

"Oh! Well, I call everyone with –chan!" Amanda said as if it was normal to add the feminine suffix to every guy's name. She panned her gaze, "Syaoran-chan, Fay-chan, Mokona-chan and Kuro-chan!"

"What did you just say, woman?!"

"Oh, Kuro-chan's maaaad!"

"He's mad!" Fay chimed in happily.

"Mad, mad!" Mokona bounced on top of the twitching black haired warrior's head with a wide smile, "Kuro-pon's angry!"

"He's angry!" Fay laughed.

"Angryyyy!" Amanda giggled.

"What are you guys, damn parrots?!" Kurogane growled and reached for the manjuu bun, who leapt happily away, "Damn it, you! Stop running away!"

"But that's one of Mokona's 108 secret techniques, Running Away!"

"Like _hell_ it is!"

"Ehehe!"

Syaoran blinked, then smiled as he watched the ninja chasing Mokona. Masayoshi had left them just a while ago, and he looked up as Fay smiled down at him. "He really wants to be friends, huh?"

Syaoran nodded, slightly embarrassed, and Fay smiled, "Just now, you were talking about your dream…"

"Yes…it was about that creature which appeared. That beast of fire." Syaoran recalled, brown eyes serious.

"If you're talking about dreams of animals…" Kurogane seemed to have calmed down, and his red eyes were narrowed. "I had one too."

"Me too." Fay laughed lightly. "It was very persistent."

"What about you, Amanda-chan?"

"Eh?" Amanda said as they turned to look at her. She smiled, "Well, I had one too!"

"You had two. You saw two animals." Kurogane said suddenly, his gaze piercing, "Didn't you?"

Syaoran blinked in surprise, "Really, Amanda-san?"

_"The hell. How does he know?"_

"You were mumbling in your sleep." Kurogane smirked. "You said the name of two animals."

"Eh, does that mean Amanda-chan has two of whatever it was?" Fay said in surprise. He smiled, "That's so cool!"

_"…Where are the bad guys when you need them?"_

"I wanna know who this Syaoran is!"

_"Oh. Speak of the devil. But well he's too weak to be the devil."_

Fay turned and smiled genially. "You have business with him?"

The short man with sunglasses on his nose glared, "Are you Syaoran? The one whose style Shogo likes?"

Fay grinned, leaning forward leisurely. "And what if I am?"

Kurogane was silent but his gaze was sharp as Syaoran stepped forward, "I'm Syaoran."

"Impossible! A little kid?!"

"No, he's the one!"

"What?! T-Then you," the short man stuttered, "Shogo said you have a really strong Kudan! Are you planning to join his team?! He already has many strong Kudans on his team! If you join, the balance will be overtipped!"

Syaoran shook his head. "I am not joining his team."

"T-Then!" The short man looked relieved, "You'll join my team-"

"I'm not joining you either." Syaoran said firmly.

Fay laughed. "He doesn't mince his words, does he?" He said in amusement.

"Lookin good, Syaoran!" Mokona cheered from his shoulder.

Kurogane scoffed and Amanda grinned, "Go Syaoran-chan! Show them who's Boss!" She pumped a fist into the air.

Syaoran looked slightly uncomfortable, but he continued, "I have my own affairs. So…"

"You're planning to start your own team!"

"Eh?" Syaoran held out his hands. "No, you've got it wrong-"

"Forget it Syaoran-chan," Amanda sighed, resting her hands behind her head, "That guy won't listen. It's not worth talking to him."

"What did you just say, girl?!"

"They have a girl with them!"

"Target the girl! The boy will join if we hold her hostage!"

"Morons." Amanda muttered. "Simple minded idiots. Good thing Sakura-chan's not here."

"Amanda-san!" Syaoran turned, his eyes hard at having one of his companions in potential danger, "Please get back!"

"Behold _my_ Kudan!"

The travellers looked up to where a giant spiky animal hung in the air, its long tail sharp as sharp as a porcupine's spine.

"It's huge!" Fay and Mokona echoed with smiles. The blond turned to the side, "It seems you have become a target, Amanda-chan. Stay back, okay?"

"Amanda-san, it's dangerous!" Syaoran said as he ducked the spiky tail which lashed into the wall, his voice anxious, "Please get away from here!"

_"Look at the kid. So young and feeling so responsible already."_ Amanda thought wryly. She smiled. _"He's the youngest and yet he's like the leader."_

"What to do, what to do…" Amanda smiled as she dodged the spiky tail which had made her its new target. "Should I fight back? Ah but Kuro-chan would be mad, since this is supposed to be his fight…"

"Better get away then, huh?"

_"Will you not protect yourself?"_

_"Can't. This isn't my fight."_

_"Even though you desire to fight?"_

_"There's someone who's itching for a fight more than I am."_

_"How surprisingly selfless of you."_

_"Of course. I understand bloodlust."_

"Amanda-san!"

"Syaoran-kun!"

Amanda had her gaze on Masayoshi, who had shouted and was running towards them as they looked at him. She felt a hand on her wrist, and blinked at a smiling Fay. "It really is dangerous. Syaoran-kun's worried about you." He said, looking up into the sky with a smile, "Well, shall we fly?"

The blond closed his eyes, and was soon levitating into the air. He opened his blue eyes and smiled at the other blonde, tugging gently. Amanda let herself be carried into the air beside Fay. They floated to the top of a building, and Fay lowered them to the solid surface, releasing the wrist in his grasp.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" The magician said with a relaxed smile as he sat on the edge.

"Thanks Fay-chan." Amanda said as she sat beside the blond. "But I could have survived there."

"I know." Fay said, that smile still on his face as he turned. Blue eyes met green eyes. "But Syaoran-kun feels responsible for your safety."

"Even though he's not the one who will fight?"

Fay smiled wryly, "You noticed too, huh?"

"I've been getting bored." Kurogane said from the ground. He strode forward with a confident smirk, his fist clenched, though the cool image was somewhat ruined by the smiling Mokona on his shoulder. "I'll take you on!"

"Kurogane's been looking forward to this!" Mokona exclaimed cheerfully. "He wasn't bored at all!"

Fai grinned cheekily and called out, cupping his hands around his mouth, "Kuro-pon! The Hanshin Republic _is_ just your style, isn't it?!"

"It sure is!" Amanda agreed, sharing a cheerful grin with the mage.

"Right~?"

"You shut up!" Kurogane growled at Mokona. He raised his gaze with a glare, "And you two over there, shut up too! How the hell did you two get up there anyway?!"

"Magic, Kuro-rin!" Fay grinned widely. He swung his legs, laughing at Kurogane's disbelieving expression, "Just kidding! Anyway, we'll be cheering you on from here, okay, Kuro-sama~?"

"Kick their asses, Kuro-sama!" Amanda shouted encouragingly.

"I'll kick _your_ ass!"

"Ah, the girl's up there!"

"What- how did she get up there?!"

"Boss!"

"Oi!" Kurogane shouted, feeling impatient, "I'm your opponent! Pick on someone your own size!"

"Kuro-sama's so manly!" Fay called out from the roof with a grin.

"Kurogane's the man!" Mokona added from Kurogane's shoulder, smiling.

"Shut up! And go away, I won't be blamed if you get sliced to pieces in my fight!"

"Awww, Kuro-rin's worried about Mokona!" But the white manjuu grinned and leapt off Kurogane's shoulder, hopping over to Syaoran's.

Amanda watched as Syaoran talked to Kurogane, his expression a little more relaxed, "Ah. He really feels responsible, huh?" She said.

"Syaoran-kun's just that type of guy." Fay smiled.

"And for a big guy, Kuro-tan can dodge well!" Amanda said as she leaned over slightly, watching Kurogane dodge the spikes without effort, "Hey, what do you think his Kudan is?"

"Mmm," Fay smiled, resting his chin on his hand, "Probably something as big and strong as him." He grinned. "Oh and fierce too!"

"Like…" Amanda's lips curled.

"Maybe…" Fay smiled.

"A dragon."

"Watch out!" Syaoran yelled as he sprinted forward, ready to call out his Kudan to help his comrade.

Kurogane growled as he dodged the spiky tail, "Stay back, kid!" He barked angrily, red eyes flashing.

Syaoran started, but stopped. "Yes." He said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Syaoran!" Mokona reassured from his shoulder, "I'm sure Kurogane will be fine!"

"But-" A loud crash sounded, and Syaoran looked up, eyes panicked, "Kurogane-san!"

"He's alright!" Mokona pointed out in relief as Kurogane emerged, lifting a huge piece of rubble with his right arm alone.

* * *

On top of the building, Amanda closed her eyes, smiling.

"Amanda-chan?"

"The wind's nice up here." Amanda said. She opened her eyes, looking at Fay, "You control the element of Wind, don't you? That's why you can fly."

Fay grinned, "Amanda-chan is really smart," he said leisurely, looking away. "This is the closest I can come to using magic." He said. "The Kudan are sort of like magic…I guess."

Below, a stray spike was headed towards Syaoran from the right direction, the boy turned at the last moment, brown eyes widened. Fay's blue eyes narrowed, and the spike was swept away by a sudden gust of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere, missing the boy. Syaoran blinked in surprise then found himself blown back by a strong gust of wind. He braced his arms, but removed them when no danger was present. He looked up, to see Fay waving at him with a smile.

"Be careful, Syaoran-kun!" The magician called out.

"That's so cool, Fay-chan!" Amanda said admiringly.

Fay grinned, "Isn't it?"

"Syaoran! Are you okay?!" Mokona said worriedly.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Damn it kid! I told you to stay back!"

Syaoran grimaced. "I-I'm sorry, Kurogane-san!"

"Tch!" Kurogane scoffed. He looked at his opponent with a smirk. "Hey. Your Kudan has a weakness. If I had a sword," he clenched his fist, "It would be in pieces already."

A roar sounded through the air and Kurogane's eyes widened. He turned to see a gigantic blue dragon with a long, narrow neck and a jewel on its forehead. Its wings spanned metres and were spread out majestically.

"What?! You were the one who appeared in my dream!"

Seeing the dragon on the internet was one thing, seeing it in reality was another. Even though she'd known what his Kudan was, Amanda still found herself surprised, "Wow," she said in awe, "That is one huge dragon."

"It is a dragon!" Fay grinned widely. "We guessed right, Amanda-chan!"

Amanda laughed and held up her hand. Fay blinked at her and she offered, "High-five?"

Fay blinked his blue eyes. "Eh?"

_"Oops. Different culture."_ Amanda smiled. "When two people share a victory they'll share a high five." She explained. "We just have to slap our palms together like this."

"…Oh!" Fay said in realization with a smile. He held up his hand, though he still looked a little lost. "Like this?"

_"Poor guy. He's never high-fived anyone before. Well, he is a prince." _

"Yup!" Amanda brought her hand forward and slapped her palm lightly against Fay's. "Like this." She withdrew her hand, "Though, our hands are supposed to meet at the same time."

"Ahahaha, I only know hand shakes!" Fay said sheepishly. He grinned, looking at his hand, "What an interesting custom! Maybe I should introduce it to Kuro-rinta!"

"…He might use the opportunity to crush your hand, Fay-chan."

"Nah, Kuro-chi's not that mean!"

On the ground, Kurogane sneezed. He scowled as he held onto the sword which was originally a dragon, "Why do I feel like someone's talking about me?"

"S-So?!" The short and fat man spluttered, "Your Kudan's probably just for show! Take my ultimate attack, KANE KUI-HODAI!"

"What a name." Amanda muttered. "Next time I eat crab, I'll be reminded of this moment."

"It doesn't matter how hard a shell is, lobsters and crabs all have weak points in the joints." Kurogane smirked and sprinted forward, bringing his sword down onto the spiky crab in a powerful, diagonal slash.

"HAMA RYUUO-JIN!"

The Kudan exploded in a bright flash of light, and its owner screamed in pain, "GAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Fay smiled, as Amanda said, "Even his attack is associated with a dragon. No wonder his Kudan is a dragon."

The blonde looked at the smiling mage. _"The dragon and the phoenix huh?" _She shrugged, _"Well, this is the first world so I guess it's okay if we spend time together. He is my favourite character after all."_

"Carrying that huge sword with only one hand," Fay leaned forward, still smiling, as the wind around him blew his soft strands of blond hair, "Kuro-rin's amazing isn't he, Amanda-chan?"

"Of course he is, Fay-chan."

"In my life," Kurogane was saying, red eyes narrowed and brows furrowed, holding his sword behind his back, "I've only served under one person."

"And that's Princess Tomoyo!"

"Wahhhhh!" Fay exclaimed from the roof with a bright grin, "You're so cool, Kuro-rinn!"

Kurogane twitched. His cool moment ruined, he whirled and pointed a finger at the grinning mage, "Shut up, you! And get down here already!"

"Eh, Kuro-sama's so demanding!" Fay pouted as he swung his legs as if he was sitting on a swing instead of on top of a tall building. He smiled. "I'm afraid we can't get down, Kuro-chi! Why don't you ask that big cool dragon you have to help us down?" He called cheerfully.

"Eh?!" Syaoran exclaimed, his eyes wide, "Fay-san and Amanda-san are stuck there?!" He turned to Kurogane anxiously, "What should we do, Kurogane-san?!"

"No!" Kurogane roared, grinning crazily with a twitch in his eyebrow, "Don't be fooled. That stupid mage got them both up there so he can get them down!"

"It's true, Kuro-tan!" Amanda joined in with an amused grin, "We got swept away in the midst of battle and suddenly we found ourselves here!"

"Like hell you can get swept away that far!" Kurogane flung his arm out, growling, "What are you two made of, paper?!"

Fay laughed and smiled innocently, "Well Kuro-pon, we're stuck up here! Won't you help us down?"

"God damn it!" Kurogane bellowed, waving the sword around in the air with his one hand as Syaoran yelped and stepped back for fear of being accidentally beheaded. "Stop pretending and get your ass down here!"

Amanda smirked. "You really like teasing him, don't you?"

"It's fun!" Fay said, blue eyes shining and smile seeming genuine. "He gets mad so easily!"

"Are you listening to me, mage?!"

"I'm hearing you loud and clear, Kuro-rin!"

"Then stop wasting time," Kurogane thrust the blade of his sword towards the grinning Fay, who had started swaying for a reason he didn't know and didn't want to know, "And get the hell down here!"

"Ehhhhh," Fay sang as he swayed from side to side and round and round, closing his eyes with a smile, "But it's really nice and windy up here!"

"You! If you continue swaying you'll fall off!"

"Awww, is Kuro-rin worried about me?!"

"Hell no!"

"Hey Kuro-pu, why don't you go find a ladder to help us?"

"I am _not_ finding a ladder when you can get down yourself! And where the hell would I find such a long ladder?!"

"Fay-chan," Amanda said as Fay chuckled, "You don't want to show him your Kudan yet, do you?"

"Maybe." Fay smiled secretively. He stretched his legs out and rested comfortably on his hands. "Hey Amanda-chan, by any chance, do you have a way to get us down from here?"

"And what if I do?"

Fay smiled happily, "Then I'll be grateful to you, Amanda-chan!" He tilted his head with an innocent smile, "Help me out, okay?"

_"With a smile like that, who can resist you?"_

But even though Fay's blue eyes were warm with mirth, she knew he was also judging her. She was the only one he knew nothing about, after all. He knew everything about everyone in their group, except her.

_"Hard to believe that's a façade."_

"…Okay."

"Yay!" Fay threw his hands up into the air. He grinned, then placed them back on the roof. "So what is Amanda-chan going to do?"

"Mage! If you don't get down here in the next minute we're going off without you and the girl!"

"Eh? K-Kurogane-san!"

Kurogane ignored Syaoran and stalked closer, yelling, "You hear me?! We've no time for your games!"

"I hear youuuu!" Fay drew out cheerfully, "Don't worry about me, Kuro-rin! Amanda-chan has a way to get us down!"

_"Why are you entertaining him?"_

_"Well, it's fun. And he's cute."_

_"…Heh. So you require my power?"_

_"Yeah. If you don't mind."_

_"It is yours to do with as you wish."_

"Hey Fay-chan, do you like ice?"

"Ice…?"

Amanda smiled. "Stand up for a bit."

The blonde stood up and walked away from the edge as Fay blinked, but lifted himself and scooted back. He smiled in anticipation.

"I can't wait to see Amanda-chan's magic!" He joked.

Amanda smiled. She moved towards the edge again, and knelt on the ground. She rested her hands on the rooftop and closed her eyes, focusing on drawing out her Kudan's power.

She opened her eyes, still focusing. Ice began to form on the edge of the roof, continuing on to thin air. The layer of ice spread out, forming a long and wide ice slide from the roof down to the ground.

Fay let out a gasp and Amanda turned to him questioningly, to see his blue eyes slightly wide. "Fay-chan?"

"A-Ah," Fay smiled, waving a hand, "It's nothing! I was just surprised!" He looked to the ice, "So this is Amanda-chan's Kudan's power!"

_"…Oh yeah. He's from Celes. The super cold land." _Amanda mused. _"I must have really reminded him of the magic there."_

"Soo…we're supposed to slide down this?" Fay grinned, back to normal, "Seems fun!"

"Yeah. But wait," Amanda focused, and walls of ice formed on either side along the sheet of ice. She panted slightly, exhaling. "Just in case. I don't want Fay-chan to fall off and hurt himself." She smiled. _"'Cause I've never done this before. I hope the ice's thick enough."_

_"It is."_ The voice reassured her. _"It is my ice after all."_

_"Is that so? Good to hear."_

"Amanda-chan's so kind!" Fay grinned back and advanced to the edge "Well, here goes nothing!"

"Kuro-rinnnnnn! I'm coming down now!"

And with those words, Fay let himself slide down the ice slide, protected from accidentally falling off by the two walls of ice as he grinned and laughed into the air. Kurogane was at the end of the ice slide, holding his huge sword and staring with his mouth open slightly at the laughing mage. He moved his mouth to voice his disbelieving thoughts at the childish sight before him, but was cut off as Fay reached the end and crashed into him from the sheer speed he had been going at.

"What the hell?!"

"Kuro-samaaaa! S-See?!" Fay laughed breathlessly from where he lay on top of the shocked ninja, "I'm down! Aren't you glad?!"

"You idiot! That was dangerous!" Kurogane yelled, twitching as Fay merely giggled and wrapped his arms around him.

"No it wasn't! Amanda-chan made two walls to protect me, see?"

"I meant my sword!" Kurogane shouted as Fay smiled at him brightly, as he reached out his left hand to his sword, which he had thrown to the side at the last moment so that he would not accidentally kill the mage, not having had time to concentrate to dissolve it. He had killed countless people, but he had never _accidentally_ killed someone before, no matter how annoying they could be, "You could have gotten killed, stupid mage!"

Fay smiled wryly, something behind his blue eyes Kurogane would seek to identify in the future, "But Kuro-sama wouldn't have killed me."

"Uh…Fay-san? Kurogane-san?"

Fay grinned his usual grin and lifted a hand, waving towards Syaoran, "Yes, Syaoran-kun?"

"Um you might want to get out of the way," Syaoran said hesitantly as he raised his gaze, "So that Amanda-san can come down too."

"Kurogane is hugging Fay!" Mokona piped up from Syaoran's shoulder. "Kurogane caught Fay!"

"I'm not hugging him! He's the one hugging me!" Kurogane still managed to yell at the giggling Mokona from his awkward position on the ground as Fay happily rested his head on his chest. The ninja gaped. "You! Mage! What are you doing?!"

"Hugging you, Kuro-sama! Kuro-rin is quite comfortable!"

"What the hell am I, your fucking pillow?!"

"Eh no cursing in front of the kids, Kuro-run!"

"Wow. I seem to have created a KuroFai scene." Amanda said to herself from on top of the building. But she took pity on Syaoran who looked increasingly uncomfortable, so she yelled, "Hey loverbirds! Get out of the way or I'll crash into you two!"

Kurogane spluttered but pushed the mage off him forcefully, who smiled annoyingly as he stumbled but regained his balance easily. "You…" Kurogane grinned and picked up his huge sword, "You better be prepared!"

"Waaaaah, Kuro-pon's angry!" Fay laughed as he dodged a swing of Kurogane's sword. He ran away, grinning as he twirled out of the way of another strike. "Someone saveeeee me!"

"Stop dodging you damn bastard!" Kurogane bellowed as he swung his sword again at the nimble mage. He twitched. "And stop running away!"

"Catch me if you caaaan, Kuro-samaaaa!"

"Damn it! Come back here and fight like a man!"

"But Kuro-rin isn't playing fair! He's using his Kudan!"

"You use your Kudan too then!"

"Ehehehe!"

Amanda smirked as she watched the two figures tear away, Kurogane swinging his sword and inciting frightened screams from people as Fay danced away from him with a teasing smile, the wind around his legs giving him a burst of speed as Kurogane chased him angrily. He had to be using his Kudan if he could move so fast.

"Well, it's my turn."

The blonde pushed herself down the ice slide, and grinned as the wind raced past. It was freezing, but so thrilling, going at such a wild speed on such a slippery surface. The blond had never experienced anything like it before.

"Amanda-san!"

"I'm not the one you should catch, Syaoran-kun!" Amanda shouted. She was reaching the end and as the boy's eyes widened, she grinned as the speed sent her springing off the ice slide into the air, over the surprised Syaoran. Amanda flipped and landed safely on the ground on one knee, holding her hands out as if she had just done a circus performance as she grinned.

The blonde stood up and turned to Syaoran with a wide grin, "You don't have to worry about me!" She winked, "I'm tougher than I look!"

"A-Ah…" Syaoran said, looking relieved that his companion was uninjured. He sighed. "But that was still dangerous."

"What's a little danger if it's fun?"

Syaoran smiled awkwardly. Behind him, Masayoshi gaped, "That was so cool!" He said excitedly. "I-I was about to offer my Kudan's help to get you two down," he babbled, "But I didn't know your Kudan was so powerful too!" He said almost nervously. "And- that black haired man's Kudan- was really cool! He has the highest level Kudan like you, Syaoran-kun!"

"It's so amazing! All of your friends have really powerful Kudan! I bet that blond guy has a really strong Kudan too!"

"Probably." Syaoran said. He smiled at the black haired boy. "Thank you for the warning, Masayoshi-kun. I'm glad you weren't hurt in Kurogane-san's fight."

"Oh my Kudan protected me!" Masayoshi smiled. "It's not much, but I can at least defend myself too."

"So anyway," Amanda said, sliding a hand into her pocket with a smile. "Shall we go on?"

"Ah yeah but," Syaoran turned his gaze, "What about that?"

"Oh, that? It'll melt."

"But…"

"Well, you can help melt it, can't you?" Amanda said, smiling down at the brown haired boy. "Since your Kudan is made of fire."

"Ah. But how…"

"Just concentrate and ask your Kudan to let you use its power."

Syaoran nodded. He closed his eyes, silent for a moment before he opened them. He directed his firm, fiery gaze to the slide of ice, watching as a small fire started and it began to melt, water dripping down.

"It's melting!" Masayoshi exclaimed in admiration, "Syaoran-kun, you're really cool!"

"But this will take a long time…" Syaoran murmured, the fire fading away from his eyes. He thought for a moment. "Mokona, can you move away for a while?"

Mokona nodded and jumped to Amanda's shoulder. Syaoran advanced towards the ice slide. He placed out his hand and focused, and rings of fire emerged from his hand, going up the ice slide and setting it on fire.

Only when the flames had reached the top of the ice slide and started to melt away the ice there did Syaoran turn and walk back to his companions. "I think it should be fine now." He said with a smile. He placed a hand on his heart. "I would have called him out, but I didn't want to trouble him for such a simple thing."

"Syaoran-chan is really considerate." Amanda smiled, "Thanks for your help!"

"You're welcome, Amanda-san." Syaoran looked to the side, blinking.

"…By the way, where are Kurogane-san and Fay-san?"

"Mokona saw them!" Mokona said, pointing, "They went that way! Kurogane was chasing Fay with his sword!"

"Eh, Kuro-rin was bullying Fay-chan again?!" Amanda exclaimed. "Bad Kuro-rin!"

Mokona nodded in agreement, "Bad Kuro-rin!" The white creature smiled, "Mokona will scold Kuro-rin when he comes back!"

"Definitely!" Amanda and Mokona giggled. The blonde grinned, "Maybe I'll freeze him with my Kudan!"

"Frozen Kurogane!" Mokona exclaimed happily. "Frozen Kurogane cannot attack anyone!"

"Freeze Kuro-chan!"

"Right!"

"Uh…" Syaoran said, looking off into the distance. "We should go after them, shouldn't we?"

Amanda placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and smiled as Syaoran looked up.

"I'm sure they'll come back, Syaoran-chan. In the meantime, let's return okay? We've got things to discuss."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for the reviews. At first I didn't feel like writing, it seemed kind of pointless. I was also lazy. But knowing there are people who appreciate this story encouraged me. So here is a long chapter which was tedious to write as battle scenes are. I spent quite a bit of effort and time on it. Less of the OC at the end and more Kurogane and Fay. I feel like I'm writing deleted scenes or something. Well please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter if you want this story to continue._

* * *

"That damn woman!"

"Now now Kuro-rin!"

"Not only did she not help with yesterday's dinner, she refused to wake up!"

"Haha, she's a very deep sleeper, eh?"

"And she _froze_ my legs when I entered the house!"

"Awww, don't be mad, Kuro-rin! Amanda-chan was only protecting me from you!" Fay grinned as he skipped along while Kurogane grumbled with a deep scowl. He tilted his head. "Lucky you had Syaoran-kun to help, huh?"

"You alarmed Sorata-san when you came into the house with your big sword!"

Kurogane scowled.

* * *

_"Get back here and repeat what you said, you damn mage!"_

_"Waaaah! No swinging your sword in the house, Kuro-rin!"_

_"Welcome back-" Sorata stared, then glared at Kurogane who was still chasing Fay, "Hey!" He barked, "No weapons in I and my lovely wife's house!"_

_Amanda grinned from where she stood beside Syaoran, looking like they had just come back. "Mokona-chan!" She sang, "Look! Kuro-chan is still bullying Fay-chan!"_

_"Bully, bully!" Mokona cried out, "Kuro-pu's a big bully!"_

_"Freeze the big bully, Amanda!"_

_"My thoughts exactly!" _

_Kurogane, who had only stopped to dissolve his sword out of respect for the one giving them a place to stay, was about to resume chasing the grinning mage when he found himself unable to move and a sudden chill up his ankles. "What the hell?!"_

_"Frozen Kurogane, frozen Kurogane!" Mokona cheered happily._

_"You damn manjuu bun-wait-" Kurogane turned his glare to the smiling blonde, "It's you, isn't it?!" He pointed at the ice covering his ankles, "Damn it, it's cold! Remove this now!"_

_"Amanda-chan!" Fay said happily as he skipped his way to behind the blonde and placed his hands on her shoulders, peeking out with a sly grin, "Thanks for saving me!"_

_"No problem, Fay-chan!"_

_"Hiding behind a woman?!" Kurogane gritted his teeth as Fay and Amanda shared a grin. He struggled to get his feet out of the ice, "You coward!"_

_Fay pouted. "Kuro-pon's so mean…"_

_"Eh, I think that's enough." Sorata said once he had gotten over his surprise. He smiled at Amanda. "So that's your Kudan, huh? Cool. But he isn't swinging his sword around now so you can let him go."_

_"Okay! Syaoran-kun!"_

_"E-Eh?"_

_"Melt the ice for Kuro-chan!"_

_"Oh…" Syaoran said. He nodded and moved forward, placing his hands on the ice encasing Kurogane's ankles. "Please keep still, Kurogane-san."_

_Kurogane stared, but scoffed and didn't move. Syaoran concentrated and ran his hands across the ice, leaving behind flames which melted it away into water which dripped to the ground._

_The brown haired boy stood up and moved back. Kurogane sighed in relief when he was finally able to move again. "Thanks kid." He said gruffly._

_Syaoran looked surprised, before he smiled, "You're welcome, Kurogane-san." He said politely._

_"Ahhhh that's great and all," Sorata said with a sigh, "But now the floor is wet!"_

_"I just cleaned the floor." Arashi murmured._

_"Oh I can take care of that." Amanda grinned. She snapped her fingers and the water on the floor dissolved into blue swirls, as the remaining bits of ice on Kurogane's legs shattered into blue mist._

_"There!"_

_Kurogane twitched as Syaoran looked surprised. Fay grinned from behind the blonde, "Awesome!" He said cheerfully. "Amanda-chan is just full of surprises!"_

_"If you could do that in the first place why didn't you?!" Kurogane yelled in frustration at the smiling blonde._

_"Because it's fun!"_

_"Fun?!"_

_"Anyway!" Sorata said loudly, clapping his hands. He grinned as everyone looked at him, "Before we talk about serious stuff, we've got to fill ourselves with good food! I'm sure we're all tired and hungry!" He said, "Well, I just got back from work, so I am, at least!"_

_The smiling man nodded, and pointed to the two other men in the room. "I will need the help of Kurogane and Fay."_

_"What?! Why do I have to help?!"_

_Sorata merely laughed and moved to the grumpy Kurogane, slinging a friendly arm around his shoulder, "If you don't work, you don't eat!" He directed the grumbling man towards the kitchen with a grin, glancing back, "Fay?"_

_"Coming!" Fay grinned and pulled away from Amanda, picking up Mokona on the way and placing the giggling white creature on top of his head. _

_"Mokona wants to eat, so Mokona will help!"'_

_"You!" Kurogane seemed to have given in to having to help with dinner and he glared at Amanda, "You help too!"_

_"Oh no thank you!" Amanda smiled sweetly and latched on to Syaoran, causing the boy to gasp in surprise, "I'll stay with Syaoran-kun!"_

_"You're an adult, you have to help!"_

_"I'll help too!" Syaoran volunteered and Amanda smiled. _

_"Not for today," Sorata turned and gave Syaoran a reassuring grin, "You were away from Sakura all day, weren't you? You must have been worried."_

_"You can go and see her." Sorata grinned as Arashi smiled by his side, "When dinner is ready, I'll give you a call." _

_Syaoran looked surprised, but smiled gratefully, "Thanks! Thanks a lot!"_

_"And I'll stay with Syaoran-kun!" Amanda said cheerfully. "Even though he has Sakura-chan, she's asleep, so he must feel lonely!"_

_"You're just trying to get out of helping!" Kurogane bellowed as Sorata led him away._

* * *

"Well," Syaoran smiled as Kurogane twitched. "Amanda-san did keep me company."

Kurogane scoffed as Fay smiled, "Really, Syaoran-kun?"

The boy nodded, returning the mage's smile. "Really." He said.

* * *

_Syaoran clutched onto Sakura's small hand, his heart feeling troubled. The memory of Sakura which had flashed through his mind had made his heart sink even lower at the sight of the sleeping princess. Even though he had been worried, he had known then she would get better, for it was just a cold. But now, he didn't know what was affecting Sakura, he only knew he had to get back her feathers which were precious to her._

_Because she was precious to him._

_"I'll do anything to wake Sakura as fast as I can!" The young brown haired boy said determinedly to himself in the room which was empty save for him and the sleeping girl. _

_He clenched his teeth, his grip on the girl's hand tightening, "I'll find her feathers!" He yelled, "I will!"_

_Sakura did not stir. Syaoran closed his eyes, praying with all his heart she would be alright._

_The door slid open, and a voice said, "Can I come in?"_

_"Yes." Syaoran opened his eyes, looking up with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for chasing you out, Amanda-san."_

_"No need to apologize, I know you needed time with her," Amanda smiled. She moved to sit down beside Syaoran. "She's still asleep, huh?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"Hm." The blonde said. "Syaoran-chan?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Don't be too hard on yourself." Syaoran looked surprised but the blonde merely smiled at him. "I know you feel responsible for her, but you shouldn't take all the burden on yourself."_

_"Amanda-san…"_

_"I mean, we're all here for you. You're not the only one finding her feathers." Amanda smiled reassuringly. She reached out and patted Syaoran's shoulder, "So really, you should try to relax, okay? Sakura-chan wouldn't want you to be so burdened for her sake either." She grinned, "Really, you're even more tense than Kuro-chan!"_

_"…Yeah." Syaoran said. He smiled gratefully, and nodded. "Alright, Amanda-san. I will take your words of advice." _

_"Thank you."_

_"Such a polite kid." Amanda grinned and reached out to ruffle Syaoran's brown hair, who blinked. "Now don't hold onto her hand so hard, you wouldn't want her to wake up feeling pain!"_

_Syaoran flushed as he realized he had been so absorbed in his emotions that he had crushed Sakura's hand desperately. He quickly loosened his grip, apologizing automatically, "I'm sorry, princess!"_

_"The princess's still asleep." Amanda reminded him, smiling. "Like a sleeping beauty, right?"_

_"Yes." Syaoran said, smiling at Sakura's pretty sleeping face. He blinked when he realized what he said, and reddened, "Eh- I mean-!"_

_Fortunately, he was saved from further embarrassment when the door slid open and Sorata poked his head in, "Guys, dinner's ready!" The man grinned. _

_"Alright!" Amanda called out as Sorata walked away. She stood up and looked down at Syaoran. "Well, shall we go?"_

_Syaoran blinked, then smiled and stood up._

_"Yes!"_

* * *

Syaoran smiled at the memory, as Fay said, "Amanda-chan's so nice!" He said lightly, smiling as he roamed his gaze, "Isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"We're supposed to be looking for the Kudan that has the feather," Kurogane said impatiently, "Not talking about some girl who refused to wake up and help."

"Awww Kuro-tan, don't be like that!" Fay grinned leisurely.

Kurogane glared at him, "You weren't helping either!" He said in frustration. "I asked you to wake her up when I went to wake the kid up!" He growled. "And I come back to find you poking her cheek and playing with her hair!"

"I was trying to wake her up!" Fay protested, but he was smiling. "It's not my fault she doesn't want to wake up!"

"Ah," Syaoran smiled in an attempt to calm Kurogane down, "It's okay, isn't it? I'm sure Amanda-san's tired. Let her sleep."

"That's right." Fay said thoughtfully, "She seems to come from a peaceful world…not like Kuro-rin here."

"You realize we don't know anything about her." Kurogane grumbled.

"Eh?" Fay grinned teasingly, "Is Kuro-pu interested in Amanda-chan?"

"No way." Kurogane deadpanned. His eyes narrowed. "I'm suspicious of her." He said bluntly.

Fay smiled, blue eyes contemplative. "Mmm." He said.

"Anyway," the blond mage said, peering with his blue eyes, "I don't think anybody has their Kudan out while they're just walking."

Kurogane snorted, narrowed red eyes surveying the crowded area.

"Even if they do have the feather, I doubt they'll just give it up."

* * *

A certain green eyed blonde yawned, turning over in bed. The blonde blinked open sleepy green eyes, to see the other futons empty.

Amanda gasped and sat up quickly, green eyes widening. "Oh shit, I overslept! Shade's gonna kill me!"

"…Ah wait. Shade's not here." The blonde yawned and looked around, relaxing more at the realization. "Oh yeahhh…I'm in Tsubasa. Hanshin Republic…"

Amanda blinked again, before her green eyes widened again and she shot out of bed, "Damn, Fay's fight! It's today, isn't it?!" She looked around frantically, "What time is it now-wait, what time was it anyway?"

"My favourite character, and I'm not there to see his Kudan just because I overslept! What kind of a fan am I?!"

The door slid open, and Arashi peered in. She smiled. "It seems you are awake." She said, her voice soft. "The boys have already gone out to look for Sakura-chan's feather."

"Where did they go, Arashi-san?!"

Arashi blinked at Amanda's almost panicked expression. "I'm not sure. They just said they would walk around." She said truthfully. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, just, I was supposed to go with them…"

"Well, I'm sure you can catch up with them if you go now." Arashi smiled reassuringly, "They just left about an hour ago."

_"That's already too late…"_

But Amanda smiled appreciatively at the black haired miko. "Thank you, Arashi-san!" She said.

"I will go now!"

Arashi nodded. She turned away with a smile.

"Have a safe trip."

* * *

_"Hey. Thanks. I didn't know you could do that."_

_"It is my wish to help you." _

"Well, thanks anyway." Amanda grinned as she rode on the wyvern's back. "Never thought I'd get to ride on a dragon. Good thing I didn't choose the unicorn!"

_"Technically, I am a wyvern."_

"Well, you are a type of dragon." Amanda leaned forward, looking out, "You can sense Fay's Kudan?"

The wyvern nodded. _"But the battle seems to be ending. He is retreating." _He moved his neck, as he glided along with spiked wings, _"We are almost there."_

"Damn. Well it isn't really a proper fight since he was up against that idol girl," Amanda sighed, "But I wanted to see his phoenix, it looked so cool."

_"Are you not satisfied with me?"_

"Of course I am! You're pretty cool yourself," Amanda grinned, reaching forward and patting the wyvern, "Don't be jealous! I'd choose a dragon over a phoenix any day! It's just that a phoenix really suits Fay."

_"Noted."_ The wyvern said with a toothy smile.

They glided through the air for a while, until a huge blue wave came into their line of sight, "That should be Syaoran and Shogo's fight." Amanda said.

_"Do you desire to interfere?"_

"Nah, just go nearer, but make sure we're unseen."

The wyvern flew closer to the scene of the battle, at the same time gliding higher into the air. Amanda watched as Syaoran emerged from the tidal wave, his Kudan having made a protective wall of fire around him.

_"That is the one who rules over Fire." _The one who claimed to govern ice said. _"That human is strong in his heart. Only those who burn passionately in their hearts with a resolve can control him."_

"Yeah. Once Syaoran decides on something, he'll do it no matter what." Amanda smirked. "But me, my resolve is more cold. I only care about my own ambitions. Syaoran's different, he's doing all he can for his most important person."

_"You seem to already be caring for your companions."_

"There's still a long way to go." The blonde said. "But I guess it's because I know their characters. Hell, I read volumes of manga about them. So of course I'm fond of them." Green eyes glinted. "They're interesting."

"Knowing what's gonna happen, it's so tempting to try and change the future. Screw things up a bit. Things will already be screwed up anyway."

The wyvern turned and looked at cold green eyes. _"That would not be advisable. The future should be untouched by those who know of it."_

"Well, we'll see about that."

The blonde looked down, and a figure that was huge even from so high up had appeared, towering over even the tall temple. The wyvern lowered its altitude, and green eyes blinked. "Ah. Syaoran is already running towards that big thing. It's like a human running towards Godzilla." The blonde gave a low whistle, "He really is brave, isn't he? And he's so young."

_"Will you help?"_

"Might as well. Let's try to save Syaoran from being roasted. How strong is your ice?"

_"My strength is dependent on yours."_

"Then I'd say it's pretty strong."

_"Hold on tight then."_

"Yes Sir."

The wyvern dove down, streamlining spiky wings and accelerating through the air. Meanwhile, Syaoran directed a punch of Fire towards the empowered Kudan which went through its stomach, revealing a bright shine. Amanda blinked, and seeing the Kudan frown, shouted, "Now!"

The wyvern drew its head back and gave a roar, releasing a stream of ice from its mouth directly into the centre of the Kudan, as flames exploded out of the centre of Masayoshi's Kudan as its owner screamed in fear. Fire collided with Ice before it could reach Syaoran, and the clash of the two energies created a huge explosion which flung even the wyvern back, and made the enormous Kudan backtrack a few steps.

"Shit! Go to Syaoran!"

The Ice Kudan obeyed and Amanda soon saw the boy through the dust, "Syaoran!" The blonde yelled, "Now's your chance!"

Syaoran looked up, his fire wolf having shielded him with its body and flames from the blast which had flung him to the ground, "Amanda-san!" He said in surprise.

Amanda grinned at him. "Sorry I'm late!" She gave a thumbs up, "You go do what you have to do, okay?"

"…Alright!"

Amanda smiled as she watched the boy sprint off with his Fire Kudan into the smoke, "So, think I managed to change the future a bit?"

_"You did save him from injury."_

"That's a step, isn't it?"

"Looks destructive over there!" Fay observed with a smile as he stood beside Kurogane from a distance away. "I think that's Amanda-chan's Kudan! Isn't it, Kuro-sama?"

Kurogane smirked. "Tch. Looks like she finally got her lazy ass up."

"Mm. Maybe I should help too huh?"

"Hey. This is the kid's fight."

"I know. That's why Kuro-tan didn't go charging in with his big sword, right?" Fay smiled at his companion who looked at him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to interfere much. I'll just make things a little easier for Syaoran-kun."

He swept a hand to the side then smiled, blue eyes amused. "Yeah. That should do."

"What did you do?"

Fay smiled genially, leaning back. "Oh I just changed the air current a little."

Syaoran blinked as the smoke suddenly seemed to be blown away by a sudden gust of wind, revealing to him the Kudan who had Sakura's feather shining in its burning inside. He noticed there was less fire, and even as he fixed his eyes on the flames, the mysterious wind seemed to blow a good portion of them away. Using the element of surprise to his advantage while the Kudan was still disoriented, he leapt into the middle of the burning Kudan, plunging his hand into the flames as he clenched his teeth, determination in his burning brown eyes.

_"Do you want to freeze the fire?"_

"He has to do this on his own. If you freeze the fire it'll be too easy for him." The blonde said. "He can just punch through the ice with his Fire Kudan. Fighting fire with fire is harder and will test his resolve."

"And," the one riding on the wyvern turned green eyes to the black haired boy on the giant hand of the Kudan, "Two people are experiencing this ordeal. If I freeze what's left of the fire and Syaoran punches through the ice with his powerful Kudan, who knows what will happen to that guy's heart."

_"It seems you have learned."_

"Heh. Maybe."

"H-Hot!"

Syaoran's eyes widened and he turned to Masayoshi in worry, "Masayoshi-kun!"

"T-Take it!" Masayoshi was gritting his teeth along with his Kudan as tears of pain rolled down his face. He glared resolutely, "If the thing inside my Kudan is what you're looking for…then I want you to have it!"

Amanda smirked wryly as the wyvern flapped its wings, "I always thought that guy was a bit of a drama queen, but looking at him now, he's kind of admirable."

"So if it burns me," Masayoshi clenched his fist, his small eyes wide and teeth clenched in the pain of his heart burning, "Let it burn!"

"So please…take it!" The black haired boy screamed in withheld agony as Syaoran reached into the depths of the flames towards the glowing feather.

Seconds seemed like eternity in the burning flames as Syaoran struggled painfully through the fire to grasp Sakura's feather. Encouraged by the thought of ending Masayoshi's agony and doing what he was doing for his most precious person, Syaoran gathered all his burning energy and flung his hand forcefully forward, and closed his charred fingers around the treasured object in a firm grasp.

The boy and his Kudan quickly leapt out of Masayoshi's Kudan. With the feather gone, Masayoshi's Kudan began to shrink until it was back to its normal size. The boy and his Kudan fell through the air, as Syaoran's fire wolf moved to catch them on its back.

Rain suddenly fell from the sky and Masayoshi gasped as the flames that had resulted from the incident were doused, "Shogo's Kudan!"

Shogo smiled from behind his goggles as Primera clung to his arm. "The least I could do was keep the place from catching fire." He raised his gaze to the blonde on the wyvern with a smirk. "Although, the lady there could have helped as well."

Fay waved from where he was standing beside Kurogane, who looked to the side. The blond grinned, "Good job, Syaoran-kun!"

But Syaoran didn't seem to hear him. He raised his head, staring at the precious feather in his hand.

"Sakura's feather…Sakura's memory!" The brown haired boy smiled a wide, genuine smile. "I was able…to get one back for her!"

"Oh you give me too much credit!" Amanda grinned at Shogo, making Primera frown. "Shogo-kun, was it?"

"Hey!" Primera said indignantly, tightening her hold on Shogo's arm and glaring at the blonde who blinked green eyes. "Shogo's mine!"

Amanda blinked again, then smiled, "Oh don't worry, he's not my type!" She held up her hands, "Really, he's all yours!"

Shogo stared, then sighed at his possessive girlfriend. "Primera…"

Primera pouted, "But it's true!" She said petulantly, "Shogo-kun is mine! Right?"

"Uh…" Shogo stared at his girlfriend's big, pleading eyes. He raised a hand to his forehead and sighed, but smiled. He reached down to draw his neglected girlfriend close, a fond smile on his lips. "Yeah, yeah. I'm yours."

Primera brightened. She threw her arms around Shogo happily, "Shogo-kun!"

"So romantic!" Fay gave a grin as he watched the scene. He shifted his gaze, "Don't you think so, Kuro-rin?"

"Tch!" Kurogane muttered, turning away. "I don't understand people like that."

_"Yeah, 'cause your style is actions speak louder than words. What better way to say I love you by cutting off your arm for your lover?" _Amanda thought in wry amusement as Fay smiled at Kurogane who was looking away, _"Don't worry Fay, your future's quite romantic. Sort of." _The blonde laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh nothing." Amanda replied to Kurogane, who was staring at her from beside a puzzled looking Fay. She turned to Shogo, "I saw your Kudan too. I'd like to battle you, but I'm afraid we don't have the time."

"I would have liked a match as well," Shogo smiled, shrugging slightly, "Ice Kudan are rare. People with cool and calm hearts like me usually have Water Kudan." He pointed up to his blue stingray, then looked at the wyvern. "Especially a strong Kudan like yours. I think it takes a certain quality to have an Ice Kudan." He smiled.

"Ah well, I probably just got lucky!" Amanda brushed off, though her green eyes stared straight at Shogo's eyes behind his goggles. She smiled and placed a hand on the wyvern's head. "But I think this guy's cute!"

_"Cute…?"_

_"Play along."_

Shogo grinned slightly at the light blue dragon. "Yeah, he's pretty cool." His stingray came down, and he reached to pat the dark blue creature. "I like this guy though."

"Shogo-kun…"

"Ah yeah." Shogo said as Primera tugged at his arm. He jumped up onto the stingray with his girlfriend, lifting his goggles and giving a smile. "Sorry, but Primera and I are going on a date now." He nodded towards Syaoran. "Tell the kid I'll see him some other time."

Primera grinned as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend happily, "Bye bye!" She said cheerfully.

"Bye!" Fay waved with a light smile as the stingray floated away. He turned, speaking cheerfully. "Should we get going too?"

"The kid seems to have finally snapped out of it." Kurogane said as he looked at Syaoran, who was now standing and talking to Masayoshi.

Amanda leapt down from the wyvern and sprinted towards Syaoran, "Syaoran-chan!"

"Amanda-san," Syaoran smiled as he clutched the feather in his hand, not seeming to care that his clothes were singed. He bowed slightly, "Thank you for your help just now."

"Oh I didn't do much! Syaoran-chan was the brave one!" Amanda smiled back, lowering her gaze to the feather in Syaoran's hand. "Anyway we better get that back to Sakura-chan, huh?"

"Yeah." Syaoran nodded determinedly. He turned and smiled at Masayoshi and his Kudan. "See you, Masayoshi-kun."

Masayoshi grinned as his Kudan smiled, "Bye, Syaoran-kun!" He said, "I'm happy you got your precious thing back!"

"Yes." Syaoran smiled. He was about to turn and walk away when a hand grasped his wrist and pulled. "E-Eh Amanda-san?!"

"Let's go flying!" Amanda declared cheerfully as she led the surprised boy to the wyvern, "Climb on, Syaoran-kun!"

"B-But-"

"No buts! You want to get back to Sakura-chan faster, don't you?"

"Right…" Syaoran said hesitantly as Amanda released his wrist. He climbed onto the wyvern, still holding the feather securely in his hand as if it was his lifeline. His fire wolf followed him, sitting on its paws to make space for its master. Syaoran smiled and ran a hand over its flaming fur in appreciation as it rubbed its head against his shoulder in contentment.

Amanda smiled and jumped on top of the wyvern, pointing forwards.

"Off we go!"

"What-hey!" Kurogane shouted disbelievingly as the wyvern took to the air. "What about us?!"

"Your Kudan can fly too!"

"She's right, Kuro-pyon!" Fay grinned, blue eyes sparkling, "I didn't know we could ride our Kudan! It looks like fun!"

Kurogane twitched as Fay levitated into the air. "_You_ already can fly!"

"Fly fly, we're flying!" Mokona exclaimed happily from Fay's shoulder. "Like a balloon! We're flying like a balloon!"

Fay gave a laugh that sounded like a giggle as he floated over and held out his hand towards Kurogane, smiling innocently as his blue eyes shone with an amused light, "Take my hand, Kuro-sama?"

"What the hell are you saying, stupid mage!" Kurogane sounded mortified at the mere thought.

"Well, I can't carry Kuro-sama since Kuro-sama is so much bigger than me…"

Kurogane growled. Fay laughed and sprang away, looking up at the massive blue dragon which glared at him. He grinned, "Kuro-sama's Kudan looks as scary as its master!"

"Shut up!" Kurogane shouted. He turned and regarded the blue dragon with red eyes. The dragon nodded, yellow eyes sharp, and Kurogane leapt onto its back. He glanced at the smiling mage, then scoffed and looked away.

The blue dragon reared back its head and with a powerful beat of its wings, swept into the sky.

* * *

Fay stood in the air, smiling, unruffled by the strong gust of wind.

"Really. He gets angry so easily."

"Ah, everyone left!" Mokona said from Fay's shoulder, looking around and confirming they were indeed the only ones present. The white manjuu peered up at the smiling mage. "Fay? Why don't you use your Kudan too?"

Fay smiled and closed his eyes. "Yeah I should, shouldn't I?" He opened his blue eyes, smiling wryly, "I don't want to be the only one without my Kudan out, do I? Even Kuro-rin has his out."

"Fay?" Mokona asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Mokona." Fay turned with a reassuring smile to the white creature on his shoulder. He smiled, and raised his gaze to the green phoenix before him.

The phoenix's yellow eyes stared into the mage's blue eyes. An image of his most precious thing which he had given away to the dimensional witch flashed in his mind. Fay smiled, blue eyes clouded, as the phoenix threw its head back and gave a shrill cry.

"One's Kudan represents one's heart, huh?" The magician who had sworn to never use magic murmured, as the phoenix spread its wide wings, green feathers shimmering. Mokona turned to look at him curiously and Fay smiled and gave the creature an affectionate pat on the head. "Let's go, Mokona."

"Okay!"

Fay crossed the phoenix's laid down wing to get to its back. The green mystical bird turned to look at him with its yellow eyes and he stared back with blue eyes, a smile on his lips. He reached out a hand and placed it on the phoenix's beak, still meeting the phoenix's blank yellow eyes. As if having come to an unspoken agreement with its master, the phoenix nodded and allowed the mage to ruffle its feathers in an almost careful gesture as he brushed his thumb gently over the emerald jewel on its forehead, and turned its head as the mage's hand slipped quietly away.

"Hold on tight, Mokona." Fay said, smiling at the white magical creature on his shoulder.

"Alright!" Mokona said cheerfully.

The mythical phoenix flew into the air with powerful wings, reaching the sky. Fay smiled as his Kudan moved through the sky swiftly as he allowed himself to be immersed in his thoughts.

"Oi mage!"

Blue eyes blinked. Fay turned his head, staring in slight surprise. "Kuro-sama?"

Kurogane regarded him from the back of the blue dragon with piercing red eyes. He smirked. "So you finally brought out your Kudan huh?"

"Well, I did bring it out when we had to fight Primera-chan." Fay smiled.

Kurogane frowned as his blue dragon moved a little closer to the green phoenix. "Hey, you-wah!" He turned and glared at the white creature on his shoulder. "Damn manjuu bun! How the hell did you get here?!"

"Mokona jumped!" Mokona said, smiling widely.

"Go back to the mage!"

"Mokona would, but…" Kurogane blinked as the manjuu bun seemed to adopt a sad expression. "Fay wants to be alone right now."

"Huh?"

"Mokona can feel it. Fay's heart is troubled." Mokona sighed softly, holding a paw to where its heart would be if it had one. "Fay feels lonely."

"And what the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Kurogane should be more sensitive to Fay's feelings!" Mokona pointed out indignantly. "Look! Doesn't Fay look sad?"

Kurogane looked. Really looked at the mage. Fay wasn't even looking at them, his blue eyes were staring ahead, his lips were curled only slightly instead of the wide grin he usually had on and he was just staring off into the distance, as if lost in his own world- the world he had left behind and swore to never return to.

Kurogane watched as the green phoenix flew further away as its master stood on its back, his blond hair blown wildly by the wind he could control. But Fay didn't look like he was in his element at all. He must have been staring for so long for Fay blinked, then turned and looked at him with a smile.

"What is it, Kuro-rin?"

"Tch. If you didn't want to get your Kudan out then you shouldn't have gotten it out." Kurogane said simply.

"Now, who said I didn't want to get my Kudan out?" Fay continued smiling, looking at the green phoenix. "Such a magnificent bird, don't you think?" He said almost wistfully.

It wasn't as if he was actually worried about the idiot mage. It was just annoying how the mage was still pretending even in his current state. Kurogane snorted. "Whatever." He said, looking at the mage's blue eyes. "You can't run away forever."

"Mm. I'll keep Kuro-sama's advice in mind." Fay said with a smile once he figured out he was supposed to respond to his companion. Kurogane couldn't detect a shred of sincerity in the statement and he turned away with a scoff.

He looked at his own dragon which reminded him of Ginryuu. Silently, he bade the blue dragon to fly a little closer to the green phoenix. Mokona looked at Kurogane, then hopped quietly onto the dragon's back.

The dragon and the phoenix flew side by side in the silence that followed.


	5. Chapter 5

"…Who…are you…?"

Kurogane and Fay arrived at the doorway just as the awake princess murmured those words with dazed eyes. They stopped and stood silently, Kurogane's expression grim and Fay frowning, their eyes filled with sympathy. Amanda, who had arrived earlier with Syaoran and was leaning against the wall, watched silently with serious green eyes.

Syaoran gritted his teeth, his hair shading his eyes as his princess stared at him blankly as if she had never seen him before in her life. When she continued staring at him in silence, he inhaled and looked up, forcing a smile for her, "I'm Syaoran. And you are Her Highness, Princess Sakura."

When one was burdened with emotions, one should deal out the facts.

Syaoran had to struggle to keep his smile from wavering from the sting in his eyes as Sakura looked blank. "If you'd be so kind to listen to me, I'll explain. You are a princess from another world."

"Another…world?"

"Yes. You've lost your memory, so to find your memories, you're travelling to different worlds."

"By myself…?"

"No…" Syaoran smiled as Sakura continued to look dazed. "You have companions who travel with you."

"Are you one of those?"

"Yes."

"You're doing this for a total stranger?"

…Stranger. He was a stranger to her now. He had known it would come to this, had known the price he had paid, but hadn't realized the full consequences until those words had left his precious person's lips. They dealt a blow to his heart he was unable to currently deal with.

But Syaoran smiled for his most precious person, resisting the urge to blink back the tears in his eyes. "I am."

He didn't know what else to say. He didn't think he could say anything else. Sakura was still looking at him and he didn't want to blink for if he did the tears would fall. He didn't want her to see him crying. Even without memory of him, her heart was still gentle and full of kindness and he didn't want to burden her with his emotions.

But his vision was getting mistier as seconds passed and he looked down, clenching his fists. He had to leave, but he didn't want to leave his princess. He-

"Princess Sakura, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Fay D. Flourite at your service."

Syaoran felt a slender hand squeeze his shoulder comfortingly. He squeezed his eyes shut, and got up to leave the room.

Fay grinned at Sakura and gestured towards Kurogane as Mokona on his shoulder did the same with a similar cheeky grin, "And may I present-"

"I'm Kurogane." Kurogane said before the mage could butcher his name to the princess they were meeting for the first time.

Fay just smiled and turned to the other blonde leaning against the wall. "And this pretty lady here is-"

"Amanda Rain." Amanda smiled and got off the wall. She knelt and smiled at Sakura, taking her hand gently. "I'm pleased to meet you, Sakura-chan."

Fay smiled brightly and held Mokona in his slender hands towards Sakura. "And this cute, fluffy one is…"

"Mokona Modoki! But you can call me Mokona!" Mokona said, excited to meet the princess for the first time.

"Nice to meet you! Let's shake hands, okay?!"

Amanda let go of the princess's hand and she smiled and took Mokona's tiny paw in her fingers.

Amanda smiled at Sakura, noticing Fay and Kurogane had left the room, "How are you feeling, Sakura-chan?"

"Sleepy." Sakura replied with a dazed smile.

"And…I don't remember anything."

* * *

Syaoran stood alone in the pouring rain, head bowed and entire body drenched, as the two people at the window watched him in silence.

"At that moment…I was sure he would cry…" Fay broke the silence with a soft voice. The mage was barely smiling. "It seems that Sakura-chan is Syaoran-kun's most important person."

"So when she said, "Who are you?" I was sure he would cry."

"I wonder if he's crying now." Fay said, blue eyes distant as Syaoran's fire wolf appeared, standing in the rain by his side.

"Don't know." Kurogane finally spoke. He stared out at the brown haired boy with a look in his red eyes which spoke of experience. He stood with his shoulder against the window pane, arms crossed and a serious expression on his face, "But if he wants to keep from crying, he'll just have to get stronger."

"So that he won't be the one crying in the end."

"Yeah, but…" Fay spoke as he stood opposite Kurogane, as the dragon and the phoenix appeared outside the window as the fire wolf looked up at his new companions.

"I also think there's a strength needed to be able to cry when you should."

The dragon and the phoenix situated themselves on opposite ends of Syaoran. In unison, they bowed their heads and intertwined their wings, soft green feathers clashing with hard blue scales but at the same time, providing an illuminating contrast to anyone who cared to look. The mystical beasts kept their heads bowed in respect for the boy's grief, as his fire wolf laid its flaming head on his master's arm, eyes closed and protecting him from what he could not protect himself from.

A light blue wyvern descended from the raining sky. Folding its wings, it rested on the ground and stared with ice blue eyes at the boy in solitary silence.

Feeling the presence and the different kinds of warmth from the dragon, phoenix, wyvern and his fire wolf, Syaoran squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists in their comforting presence as they stayed by his side as the sky cried.

* * *

"Amanda…-san?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"While I was sleeping, I wonder if someone was holding my hand…" Sakura said as she clutched her hand close to her with a soft and happy smile. "My hand…just felt so nice and warm!"

"Do you know if someone was holding my hand, Amanda-san?"

"I'm not sure, Sakura-chan," Amanda lied with a smile. The blond reached out to place a gentle hand on the princess's head, and Sakura looked up in surprise.

"But I'm sure whoever was holding your hand…must care about you very much."

* * *

"It seems one of the feathers has been returned to her."

A man with an almost square chin and a glass at his right eye smiled. "Yes. But in the paths to come, there is no guarantee they will be lucky as they were."

"There seems to be an interference." The woman with curly hair said as she looked at the wyvern by the boy's side.

"Must be the witch's doing." The man said in annoyance. But he smiled. "But no matter. She knows the limits of interference. It will not ruin my plans."

He looked to a large and long hour glass like container that held a human in its watery depths, with madness in his eyes.

"The power to control time and space will fall into my hands…no matter how much blood needs to be spilled!"

* * *

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes."

The boys and Mokona had just come back from the restaurant where they had met Shogo and his gang and Masayoshi. Amanda had stayed with Sakura, reassuring a worried Syaoran she would watch over her with Arashi and telling him to go and enjoy himself.

Sakura stood in silence, clutching Syaoran's cloak around herself in the unfamiliar place as Sorata whined, "But you haven't tasted all of the love of my honey and I through her cooking!"

Fay, noticing the princess's dazed gaze, smiled and gently touched a hand to her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Sakura smiled at him, rubbing her eye, "I'm still a little sleepy."

"Don't look down."

Syaoran looked up at Kurogane in surprise and the ninja said, "If you're a man who's got something to do, always look ahead."

Syaoran nodded, showing his understanding, "Alright."

As Fay watched over Sakura and Kurogane gave advice to Syaoran which he would remember for the trials to come, the one who was not originally intended to go on the journey across worlds pulled the gray trenchcoat around herself and slipped her hands into her pockets, ensuring the presence of her weapon.

They were back in their normal clothes. Syaoran wore his black shirt and goggles, his cloak around Sakura who was wearing the dress from her kingdom. Fay was wearing his three layers of clothing, with the third layer being his white fluffy coat with blue designs while Kurogane had his red headgear back on and his black cape wrapped around him. Fay stood beside Sakura while Kurogane had positioned himself beside Syaoran.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Mokona spread its wings and the magic circle formed.

"Thank you so much for everything!" Syaoran shouted as the magic began to envelop them.

"For what? We didn't do anything special." Sorata said good naturedly, smiling.

Arashi smiled from beside her husband and held her hands in front of her heart as if in prayer, "I hope you find one of Sakura's feathers in your next world." She said sincerely.

"I'm sure we will." Amanda said as she stood behind the four travellers.

Soon the dimension travellers were absorbed into Mokona's mouth and the creature disappeared along with the magic circle.

Sorata smiled as he held Arashi close to him, resting his head on top of her beautiful black hair. "So those are the ones Yuuko-san was counting on. You know, I think they can overcome any hardship they might face."

Arashi smiled beautifully, her eyes soft.

"Yes. And it seems they may have some help as well."

* * *

_"So, I guess this is goodbye huh?"_

_"Farewell." _The wyvern smiled at the blonde with teeth and ice blue eyes.

_"Bye-uh, what's your name?"_

_"I do not possess one."_

_"Really? As thanks for your help, why don't I give you one? From now on you'll be known as Rain!"_

_"Rain…"_

_"Yup. I'm giving you my name. My last name that is."_

_"…You are the first human to name me." _The wyvern said in slight surprise. It smiled calmly. _"Very well. I shall receive your gift."_

_"That's Xavier to you." _Green eyes shone. _"Bye Rain. It was nice meeting you."_

Rain the wyvern nodded. _"Goodbye, Xavier." _Ice blue met green, _"Remember my words."_

_"Yeah." _

As the blond turned away from the wyvern, an image of people appeared in the space between worlds in what looked like a crowded marketplace. Green eyes blinked.

_"This is gonna be a harsh landing."_

* * *

The people in the marketplace gasped in surprise and shock as five people dropped down from the sky, crashing into the store and the crates of apples.

"Wow! I think we are in the center of attention!" The blond man said cheerfully as an apple rolled off his head.

"Everybody wants to see Mokona!" A white creature talked, causing people to yelp in surprise and stare in disbelief.

"What weird place are we in this time?!" A black haired man wearing a headgear grumbled.

"Well this place looks surprisingly normal!" The blonde girl said with a grin.

"Who the hell are they?! And where did you come from?!"

The big man with a fat body and a scowl on his face roughly grabbed the princess's wrist. Before the blonde could even reach for her weapon, the brown haired boy had directed a flying kick to the man's face, squashing his facial features into something almost comedic.

"Oh!"

"Ahaha!"

"Whee!"

"Ah."

The man stood up angrily, his ego bruised, "Just who do you think you're kicking in the face?!"

_"So annoying. Can someone kill him now?"_ Amanda thought in annoyance, reaching into the pocket of the trenchcoat and closing her hand around her weapon, _"Should I do everyone a favour and strangle him?"_

_"Damn it I didn't really read this part. Is he an important villain or something?"_

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

_"What? I haven't done anything…yet. Oh wait, she's not talking to me."_

"DON'T MESS AROUND WITH PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU DUMBASS!"

"CHUNHYANG!"

A small girl with her black hair in a ponytail stood on the roof, her expression fierce for someone so young and her eyes glaring hatefully at the tall man. She wore orange clothes and her will in her very posture.

_"Woohoo. You go, girl."_

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING DUMB?!"

"BESIDES YOU…WHO ELSE IS DUMB AROUND HERE?!"

Feeling that the conversation was going to take quite a long time and not wanting to hear that annoying voice anymore, Amanda took the time to survey their surroundings as chatter and shouts filled the marketplace.

They were in a marketplace, nothing unusual or dangerous, except maybe the men holding poles and shouting behind the tall and fat man.

_"What world is this again?"_ Amanda thought long and hard. She frowned. _"Damn I can't remember."_

"I WILL COME BACK FOR REVENGE! SO WATCH OUT!"

_"God damn it his voice is grating and makes me want to rip out his voice box. But I guess that means whatever he was blabbering about is over since he said the oh so cliché line."_

_"What, does he think this is some movie? Any actor can do better than him."_

"Are you hurt?" Sakura asked Syaoran worriedly.

Syaoran smiled up at her, "I'm fine."

Sakura smiled gratefully at the boy she had forgotten. "Thank you."

_"Yup. This is sooo much better to listen to."_

Syaoran smiled back at Sakura. _"Aww, so sweet. Poor guy though."_

Amanda made a mental note to stop thinking. Her own thoughts were ruining the sweet moment.

"Wow! Just now, everyone's attention was on us!"

Wasn't Fay's voice better? Though sometimes it was just a bit too high. Probably done on purpose.

"You're amazing!"

Mokona's voice was higher but Mokona was, well Mokona, and not human.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Syaoran seemed more concerned about the mess they had created than how amazing he had been protecting his princess with a powerful kick that was decades late to the bastard. "Let me help!"

_"Yeah Rain, get off your lazy ass and help the poor boy."_

"Mokona will help too!"

"Kuro-rin! Help us pick these up!" Fay grinned as he cradled the fruits in his arm.

"What?! You're so annoying!" _That's what you say now._

"Amanda-chan, you too!"

_"Oh yeah I'm included huh?"_

"Coming!" Amanda said cheerfully and ran, bending down and helping to pick up the apples. As she smiled back at Fay, she noticed Syaoran smiling at Mokona who held out a fruit to him. Nearby, Sakura was standing and looking at the boy with a half puzzled, half wistful expression as she held different types of fruits in her arms. For once, Syaoran wasn't looking at her.

_"Look back, damn it."_

The five people had just finished putting the fruits back into their rightful places when a loud feminine voice shouted, startling them.

"YOU LOOK WEIRD!"

_"…Such a small girl and such a loud voice. Where does she keep all that air?"_

"Ahahaha…weird!" Fay said once he had gotten over his surprise. He grinned and poked Kurogane's chest, "Then it must be Kuro-rin who looks weird!"

_"My dear favorite character…you look the weirdest, with that big fluffy coat in such hot weather. And seriously, stop flirting in broad daylight."_

"If I'm weird then _you're_ weird too!"

"Are you…come with me!"

"Huh?" Amanda finally spoke out loud as the small girl grabbed Sakura's hand and shouted.

"Run!"

_"What the fuck? You can't just go grabbing the princess we're travelling for like that!"_

"Please wait!"

_"Oh still polite when someone is taking your princess away. Really, Syaoran."_

The blonde sprinted after Syaoran in exasperation as Fay called out, "Where is she going?"

"I'm sick of this!" Kurogane shouted, no doubt waving an angry fist in the air.

_"Mind reading ninja."_

* * *

"Manga!"

Fay, who had his arms hung lazily in front of him and was looking at Kurogane reading a book with an equally lazy smile on his face, blinked his blue eyes and turned. "Eh?"

Amanda's green eyes shone with excitement, "Kurogane is reading manga! I didn't know they had manga in Hanshin!"

"Manga?" Fay said slowly.

"Japanese comic book." Amanda said to the puzzled wizard, feeling like she was explaining to a small child, which was ironic for Fay was so much older than he looked. "It has words and pictures." _And I'm in one now. Ah I want to read manga too, maybe Tsubasa so I might remember what we're supposed to do in this world._

"Manga…" Fay said with a slowly growing smile. "Kuro-rin~!"

_"Oops?"_

"What?" The ninja said in annoyance as the wizard seemed to magically materialize by his side, which was impossible since he had sworn to never use magic, damn bastard.

The annoying mage grinned at him with his annoying grin which made him want to punch it off his annoying face. "What are you reading?"

"Manga."

"What's that?"

_"Oh fine, you prefer him to me."_ Amanda thought in amusement as Kurogane scowled at Fay who smiled at him innocently. The blonde shrugged and reached into her pocket, taking out her phone and earpieces. She switched it on. _"Since this runs on battery it should work even in a different world right?"_

The phone brightened to life and Amanda smiled in satisfaction. She slid her thumb across the screen to unlock the phone and accessed her music player, plugging in the earpieces.

The blonde yawned and closed her eyes, smiling as she listened to her idol's music. It made her feel content, but at the same time, invoked a sense of sadness like she was forgetting something important.

Since the blonde didn't know what world they were in it was probably alright to relax. If the villain was that annoying guy they probably wouldn't have many problems, would they? That Chunhyang girl was talking but Sakura and Syaoran were listening to her, and Syaoran was an avid listener, always ready for more information. Yeah it would be fine to relax. Until a worthy enemy came.

After all, these four and Mokona had survived by themselves, it was originally meant to be just them, according to the manga she had read. Amanda was just like a bystander, or an outsider. It'd seemed fun at first, but with Syaoran always by Sakura's side and Fay teasing Kurogane along with Mokona, it tended to get a little, lonely.

But screw that, the blond wasn't one to deal with loneliness. As long as there was Ryu's music and people to kill it was fine.

But not in front of the kids of course, especially the kind hearted princess.

The rock song had just ended when suddenly the blond's eyes shot open, narrowed. Something was wrong. She removed her earpieces and shoved them and her phone in the pocket of her trenchcoat, sharp ears catching the sound of wind.

"Is that the wind?" Fay asked as he stood with the kids.

_"Tch. Can't even relax for a while huh?"_

Chunhyang's eyes widened and she screamed in warning, "DON'T GO OUTSIDE!"

The door banged open, and the wind invaded the house. _"Great, a fucking tornado. As if we don't have enough back there."_ Amanda thought. Glad that she had listened to her instincts and kept her phone or it would have definitely been blown away and destroyed by the tornado, Amanda automatically took note of everyone; Sakura was screaming and held by Syaoran who gritting in teeth and protecting her with his own body, Fay had grabbed Mokona and seemed unharmed, Kurogane was unaffected by the bits of wood that had hit him but even he seemed to be struggling not to be blown back – and all she could see of Chunhyang was that she seemed unsurprised.

The blonde soon regretted turning her attention away as a sharp pain bloomed across her senses. She turned her gaze, finding that a huge piece of wood had driven itself into her arm.

"Fuck." The blond muttered. Without even thinking, Amanda grabbed the object and pulled it forcefully out, relieved it wasn't in that deep, and dropped it onto the floor. The tornado had torn a huge hole in the roof and the air was returning to normal. She checked her arm to make sure there wasn't any lasting damage.

"That wasn't the normal wind!" Fay said as he stood up. "Was it?"

"It's the Ryanban!" Chunhyang clenched her teeth, her fingers curling into her palm. "THAT GUY! HE DID IT! HE'S THE ONE BEHIND THIS!" She screamed in fury as everyone looked at her.

There was a silence, before Sakura gasped and exclaimed, "Amanda-san!" She said. "Where is she?!"

"I'm here, Sakura-chan!" Amanda waved from where she was at the wall which had wooden stakes impaled into it. "Don't worry! I'm alright!"

"No you're not!" The princess left Syaoran and ran over to the other girl. She took hold of her arm, "You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" Amanda was surprised at the worry in Sakura's still dazed eyes. "I'm fine, really…this isn't anything big."

"But there's blood…" Sakura said softly, placing a gentle hand on Amanda's arm. She looked up with hazily anxious green eyes. "Doesn't it hurt?"

_"…God bless this girl. She really is kind. She's the first one who asked me that. And she looks like she doesn't even have enough energy to stay awake for long." _Amanda thought, smiling at Sakura. _"And this is why I'll never kill in front of her. This gentle princess."_

"It isn't that painful, Princess." Amanda said with a fond smile, placing a hand on Sakura's cheek. "Really. I've gotten worse injuries. I still have all my bones intact."

"So don't worry, okay?"

"Okay…" Sakura smiled back, relieved. "But…please get that treated, okay?"

"Sure, if that's what you want."

"You're hurt?!" Chunhyang shouted, running over. She looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice. I was just so angry…"

_"What's with all these kind people?"_ Amanda thought. But she smiled and turned to Chunhyang, "It's fine, I would be mad too. But no broken bones, see?"

"Are you really alright, Amanda-san?" Syaoran ran to Sakura's side, but looked at the blonde.

Fay smiled. "You're not just hiding your pain, are you?" He asked.

"You've suffered worse, huh?" Kurogane said.

Amanda smiled. "Yeah."

"The skin's broken, and there's a gash, but luckily it isn't anything serious," Chunhyang said as she examined Amanda's arm. She looked up. "But we should still clean the blood and the injury so there's no infection, and put a gauze over it."

"Alright…" Amanda said, genuinely surprised that people were genuinely worried over what she considered to be a minor injury. Very minor, actually.

It wasn't as if she had been shot by a gun. Or impaled with a sword.

"Come with me to treat your wound." Chunhyang said so earnestly that Amanda could only nod and follow the little girl as Sakura followed the blonde worriedly, Syaoran by her side.

"Kuro-sama!" Fay said cheerfully with a grin at the black haired man, pointing up at the broken roof, "Let's go fix the roof shall we?"

"What?!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Does it still hurt?"

"Nope," Amanda smiled reassuringly at Sakura as Chunhyang kept her medical supplies. "I'm fine."

Sakura smiled, but she still looked concerned, so Amanda said, "But I think I should rest for a while. Why don't you go explore the town with Chunhyang-chan and Syaoran-chan?" She gave a pointed look to Syaoran.

"Yes." Syaoran said to Sakura, smiling at his princess. "Let's go, princess."

"…Okay." Sakura said. She smiled sleepily at Amanda. "Please rest well, Amanda-san."

"Sure, Princess Sakura."

Sakura turned and followed Syaoran away, with Chunhyang leading them.

* * *

Amanda had her earpieces on when she found Fay speaking to Kurogane who was fixing the roof, an unusually serious expression on his face. She slid her hand into her pocket and stopped the music.

"-He will travel to different worlds to find them. Syaoran-kun will." Fay was saying, "Even though there are many challenges ahead."

"_That's an understatement."_

There was a solemn silence, until Fay grinned and said brightly, "We should keep repairing the house!"

"But…" Kurogane twitched and Amanda watched in amusement, "Why are you sitting relaxed drinking tea?!"

Fay smiled cutely as he held up the steaming cup of tea, "Well…I wanted to see Kuro-pipi working." He said innocently. He didn't seem to be affected by the hammer which hit his head. Or maybe he was cursing Kurogane in his mind.

…Nah, he probably found the whole situation amusing.

"You do something too!"

"Really Kuro-pon," Fay picked up the hammer with a smile more suited for the movie screen, "I'm not suited for manual labor!"

"You're not suited for _anything!_"

Amanda decided to leave at this point. She felt Kurogane's gaze on her but ignored it for the time being. She glanced at Fay, who was smiling up at Kurogane.

"_Challenges, huh? You really did know everything from the beginning."_

_"But so do I."_

Fay smiled when he could no longer feel Amanda's presence. He raised the teacup to his lips. "That girl…" he said. "Is quite interesting, isn't she?"

"Huh?"

Fay took a sip of tea, and smiled up at Kurogane, "Kuro-pon? What do you think of Amanda-chan?"

"Annoying." Kurogane replied immediately. "Like a girl version of you."

"Aww, I'm hurt!" Fay grinned. He took another sip of tea.

"But she's a fighter." Kurogane stated.

"How do you know, Kuro-sama?"

"How do _you_ know?"

Fay just smiled and Kurogane scoffed. He narrowed his red eyes at Fay. "One of you is more than enough." He muttered.

"Hmm?" Fay continued smiling. He drank the rest of the tea in the teacup, and gave a relished sigh as he put the teacup down. "Ahhh, this is really good! Want some, Kuro-rin?"

"Stop drinking tea and help me fix the roof, damn it!"

* * *

"By the way Fay, where is the girl I gave to you?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow as she heard these words from the projection of Yuuko as she walked towards her traveling companions. Fay grinned, "She's sleeping!"

"What the hell is that woman doing?!" Kurogane growled. "Sleeping at this time of day! And she's done nothing! She's worse than you!" He glared at Fay, who merely smiled.

"Even the princess is awake!"

"Amanda-san is still resting." Sakura said softly.

Before Kurogane could voice his disbelief, Amanda walked into the scene, "I have a name you know…Kuro-chan."

"You! You and the damn mage, stop giving me these stupid nicknames!"

"But it's cute, Kuro-rin!" Fay said happily and grinned at Amanda. "Amanda-chan! Feeling better?"

"Yup, Fay-chan!"

"Great! You missed quite a bit when you were sleeping!" Fay smiled. He extended a hand gracefully, "Here she is!"

Amanda smiled, "So, what's the story?" She asked. "Good to see you, Yuuko-san."

"It's good to see you too, Amanda." Yuuko smiled and rested her hands on her chin. "How are you finding your journey?"

"Great! Everyone's really nice! Sakura-chan is so sweet, Syaoran-chan is admirable and kind, Fay-chan is really nice and Kuro-chan-" she smirked as Kurogane twitched, "Is grumpy but he hasn't killed me yet!"

"Chunhyang-chan was nice to me too, she helped me patch up an injury I had." The blonde smiled at the black haired girl, who looked surprised but smiled back. She turned back to Yuuko, "But I've rested too much in this world so I guess I should do something to help."

"Indeed." Yuuko smiled. "It is good to see that you are not regretting your decision." She said. "Yet."

"Then, until next time."

"Bye, Yuuko-san."

Yuuko's image disappeared and Amanda turned to the others, "So, what did I miss?"

"We're gonna storm the Ryanban's castle." Kurogane said shortly.

"But since the castle has a magic ward, we needed something to get rid of it," Fay grinned, shifting his gaze, "The dimensional witch gave us that something, in exchange for my staff." He said as if it wasn't a big deal to him at all.

_"So that's where his staff disappeared to. Guess it wasn't that important after all. Huh, and it was such a cool staff too."_

Syaoran held up the black ball in his hand with a nod.

"We are going to use this to get into the castle."

* * *

"NO!"

"I want to go too!"

It was the first time Chunhyang sounded like the child she was, but her intentions were anything but childish.

"The Ryanban's castle is under a spell." Fay explained gently, "It will be very dangerous."

"I know that already!" Chunhyang clenched her fists, "I want to come too!"

"Hmmm…that's quite a headache." Fay smiled and turned his head to Kurogane, who turned his head away as well.

"I'm no good with kids."

_"And you're the Daddy of the group…"_

"Because you're the type to be easily embarrassed." Fay teased with a grin as Mokona giggled. Kurogane twitched in annoyance, but said nothing.

"Amanda-san!" Chunhyang tried, turning to the blonde, who blinked, "Please let me go! You're still injured, aren't you?! You should stay and rest!"

"Ah, I'm more than fine!" Amanda smiled, giving a light punch to her bandaged arm. "See? No pain!"

"But…you can't fight, can you?!"

"Ah, but I'm an adult, so I have to go! And I've been resting too much!" Amanda smiled. "Right, Kuro-chan?"

"Tch!"

Chunhyang looked like she was about to cry, and Amanda blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Syaoran isn't an adult, but he's going!" The girl said defiantly.

"That's because Syaoran-kun has something he has to do." Fay said with a smile. "Even if the three of us aren't going, he will definitely go."

Chunhyang still looked defiant, and Amanda was about to ask if she could fight, but resisted at the sight of her desperate expression. She figured Chunhyang had given up on her when the little girl whirled and ran forward, clutching onto Syaoran's arms.

"Please let me come with you! I want to defeat the Ryanban!" Chunhyang exclaimed, desperation in her wide eyes, "I want to avenge my mother!"

"We'll go together!" Her voice climbed higher and higher, as tears formed in her eyes, and her grip on Syaoran's arms tightened, "Right, Syaoran?!"

Syaoran had his face shadowed. A moment passed and he pushed Chunhyang away not roughly but firmly. He turned, "No," he said, as Fay and Amanda looked at him with smiles and Kurogane narrowed his eyes, "You will wait here with Princess Sakura."

With those words, he left, his companions following him. Amanda felt slightly guilty as Chunhyang's sobs filled the air. But only slightly. She was fond of the little girl, and she'd rather her not risk her life for revenge and keep that maturity of hers.

"You didn't want to bring Chunhyang with us because you didn't want to trouble her anymore," Fay said with a leisurely smile, "She lets us stay in her house and yet she can't come with us."

"If we can't defeat the Ryanban, how can we face her when we get back?" Kurogane grinned, red eyes glinting, "Anyway, all we have to do is defeat those Ryanban guys."

"And then," Fay smiled, "If the Ryanban really has Sakura-chan's feather…"

"I will take it back." Syaoran said, hard resolution in his eyes.

Fay smiled. He looked back at the girl following them, "Will you be alright, Amanda-chan?" He asked.

Amanda smiled back, and slid her hands into her pockets.

"Don't worry Fay-chan. I'm tougher than I look."

* * *

"You're interesting…"

"I think we were complimented!"

"She called us brats, you idiot!"

_"Is this a comedy or something?"_

The wall which Fay had identified with his magic senses and Kurogane had busted through had revealed a lady who reminded Amanda of a scorpion. She didn't really like scorpion lady who had called them insects and apparently Kurogane didn't either for he had demanded to know where the Ryanban was, and of course Fay had to tell him to not be rude, which had resulted in an argument – or rather, Kurogane shouting at Fay who was smiling like an idiot.

"I'm not sure if what we're searching for is in this castle," Syaoran, seeming like the most mature of the group (ironically, since he was the youngest, Amanda thought) , stepped forward, "But could you please tell us where the Ryanban is?"

"…You have a good look in your eyes." Scorpion Lady said with a sharp smile, "However, I cannot answer that question."

"And," she stood up, "I also can't let you pass this place."

Amanda smiled. "What are you going to do with us?"

"Ahh, that's a little…" Fay grinned and placed a hand on his hip, "I get the feeling you're going to do something violent to stop us from passing through…aren't you?"

Scorpion Lady smiled. "Something like that."

In the blink of Amanda's eyes, the surroundings had transformed into something unfamiliar. They were now standing on tall rocks or spires, and there were bubbles floating around them.

Kurogane crossed his arms, "A mirage?"

"No, a mirage is an illusion, something that bewilders. However, my secret arts is…"

"Nothing as beautiful as that."

She lifted a finger and one of the bubbles headed towards Syaoran, who brought up his arms to defend himself. The bubble hit him and smoke came out of his sleeve.

"It dissolved?"

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "Well, isn't this troublesome?"

"The wounds my secret arts inflict on you are all real."

"You really want to hurt us, don't you?"

Scorpion Lady didn't reply Fay, but held up her arms and crossed her claws, posing as if she was going to dance instead of destroy them with acid bubbles.

"Die."

They jumped from rock to rock to escape the acidic bubbles. Syaoran landed on a rock and took a second to glance at the girl of their group to see how she was coping, having never seen her battle before.

"Syaoran-chan!"

Syaoran's eyes widened as the acidic bubble was about to hit him, not having seen it as it had come from the right. Before he could even move, something black flashed in front of his eyes and the bubble burst. He winced as a few drops fell on his leg.

"My leg!"

"Both the spheres and lake have the same qualities. Everything you see here…can't be contained by anything real."

Kurogane scowled as he dodged an acidic bubble, "If we fall into that lake, we'll be completely dissolved!"

_"How like a game. This is reality though. How scary."_

Amanda slashed her whip through the bubbles surrounding her, "Never get distracted in a battle." The blond told Syaoran seriously. "One mistake can cost you your life."

Syaoran looked surprised, but nodded. "Yes."

"That's a useful weapon, Amanda-chan!" Fay called out cheerfully from on top of a pole, "Kuro-min, break this!"

"What?!"

"If we're unarmed we can't do anything but avoid their attacks, right?!"

"Do it yourself!" Kurogane yelled but broke the pole with a punch as Fay jumped away.

"See? We can break the spheres without touching them." Fay said with an almost smug grin as he held onto his new weapon, "Just like Amanda-chan!"

"Tch! So she isn't useless, huh?"

Amanda smirked. She spun her whip and glanced to see that Kurogane had somehow destroyed all the bubbles around him at the same time, as they burst simultaneously.

"Hyuu! You're so cool, Kuro-sama!"

If this was a scene in a manga (well, it was, but it was also reality), Amanda was sure Fay would have a heart after that sentence.

"I told you to stop making that noise with your mouth!" Kurogane shouted angrily, scolding Fay and bursting acidic bubbles at the same time.

_"That sounds wrong."_

"Anyway, if we stay here playing with these spheres we won't get anything done."

"Syaoran-kun! Go with Mokona to the exit!" Fay pointed.

"But we haven't finished this yet!" Syaoran protested, despite the fact that he had no weapon.

"Yeah…but even if we all stay here, we won't have any better results." Fay said. He turned to Syaoran with a smile. "You have something you must do, Syaoran-kun."

"Don't worry! We've got Kuro-pi here, so we'll be fine!"

"That again!?"

"The magic is weakest up there." Fay pointed towards the top, "I'm sure you can get up there, Syaoran-kun."

"It's so high!" Mokona said worriedly, popping out of Syaoran's shirt, "Can you reach it, Syaoran?"

"You were just hiding in there the whole time?!"

"Don't worry," Fay said cheerily, "It's fine."

"I don't know what you're discussing there…but it's really quite boring to watch."

"Sorry! We're almost finished!" Fay said with a sheepish grin. Only Fay would be so friendly to their enemy.

"Why are you-"

"I'm going!"

"Wait!" Amanda said as Syaoran jumped onto the pole. She jumped onto it and flashed Kurogane a grin. "I'm going too!"

"What?!"

"Come on. You have enough strength to send me up there too, don't you?"

"That's not the point! Aren't you gonna stay and fight?!"

"Amanda-chan can go with Syaoran-kun!" Fay said brightly, "After all, I have Kuro-pon here!"

"Will you stop that already?!"

"Someone should go with Syaoran-kun since he's so reckless!" Amanda replied with a grin, "And Fay-chan doesn't seem inclined to leave you!"

"Ehehe!"

"You-" Kurogane gritted his teeth once he realized they were wasting time and their enemy could attack them any moment, "Damn it!"

The ninja swung the pole back and snapped it forward with some effort, sending the boy and the girl up towards the ceiling. Syaoran smashed a kick into the surface, cracking it and making a hole for them to go through. He and Amanda jumped through the hole, landing on solid ground.

"You three are so cool! Hyuu~!"

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP IT!"

That was the last thing Amanda and Syaoran heard as they raced out of the room.

* * *

_A.N. : I'm basically been out of this fandom for a while but I talked to someone (the one who inspired this story) and found I still have some interest in this story. If you're interested in this story, please review to let me know you're reading it so I will be encouraged to continue. Or I'd feel like I'm writing for nobody and that's not a good feeling._


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